IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


|iO   ■^" 

lU 
u 


125 


■AO 


1 2.0 


U   IM 


^^*' 

% 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  S72-4503 


^ 


fV 


rv 


sj 


V> 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


mm 


T«ohnical  and  Biblioflraphic  Notas/Notas  taehniquaa  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua. 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  aignifleantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


□    Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  eouiaur 


I — I   Covara  damagad/ 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Couvartura  andommagAa 


Covara  raatorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  raatauria  at/ou  pallicu!Aa 


r~~|   Covar  titia  miaaing/ 


La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 


nn   Colourad  mapa/ 


Cartaa  gtegraphiquaa  wt  eouiaur 

Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  eouiaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 


I     I   Colourad  ^}ataa  and/or  illuatrationa/ 


Planchaa  at/ou  illuatrationa  an  eouiaur 


Bound  with  othar  matarial/ 
Rail*  avac  d'autraa  documanta 


Tight  binding  may  cauaa  ahadowa  or  diatortion 
along  intarior  margin/ 

Lar«iiura  sarrie  paut  cauaar  da  I'ombra  ou  da  la 
diatoraion  la  long  da  la  marga  IntAriaura 

Blank  laavaa  addad  during  raatoration  may 
appaar  within  tha  taxt.  Whanavar  poaaibia,  thaaa 
hava  baan  omittad  from  filming/ 
II  aa  paut  qua  cartainaa  pagaa  blanchaa  ajouttea 
iora  d'una  raatauration  apparaiaaant  dans  la  taxta, 
maia,  iorsqua  cala  ttait  poaaibia,  caa  pagaa  n'ont 
paa  At*  fiimice. 

AUditional  commanta:/ 
Commantairaa  suppiAmantairaa; 


L'Inatitut  a  microfiimi  la  maillaur  axamplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  it*  poaaibia  da  aa  procurar.  Laa  details 
da  cat  axamplaira  qui  aont  paut-Atra  uniquaa  du 
point  da  vua  bibliographiqua.  qui  pauvant  modifiar 
una  imaga  raproduita.  ou  qui  pauvant  axigar  una 
modification  dana  la  mAthoda  normala  da  filmaga 
aont  indiquAa  ci-daaaoua. 


D 


Colourad  pagaa/ 
Pagaa  da  eouiaur 


nn   Pagaa  damaged/ 


D 


Pagaa  andommagAaa 

Pagaa  raatorad  and/oi 

Pagaa  raatauriaa  at/ou  pallicuiiaa 

Pagaa  diacolourad.  atainad  or  foxai 
Pagaa  dteolortoa.  tachattoa  ou  piquAea 

Pagaa  datachad/ 
Pagaa  ditachiaa 

Showthrough/ 
Tranaparanea 

Quality  of  prir 

Quaiiti  inigaia  da  I'impraaaion 

Includaa  aupplamantary  matarii 
Comprand  du  matiriai  aupplAmantaira 

Only  edition  available/ 
Sauie  Mition  diaponible 


r~n  Pagaa  raatorad  and/or  laminated/ 

r~pi  Pagaa  diacoloured.  atainad  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pagaa  detached/ 

rri  Showthrough/ 

p~]  Quality  of  print  variaa/ 

|~~|  includaa  aupplementary  material/ 

I — I  Only  edition  available/ 


Pagaa  wholly  or  partially  obacurad  by  errata 
slipa,  tiaauaa.  etc..  have  been  refilmed  to 
enaure  the  beat  poaaibia  image/ 
Lea  pagea  totaiament  ou  partiallamant 
obacurciea  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  una  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  At*  fiimtea  A  nouveau  da  fa^on  A 
obtanir  la  meilleure  image  poaaibia. 


Thia  item  ia  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  eat  fiimA  au  taux  da  reduction  indiquA  ci>deaaoua. 

10X  14X  18X  2ZX 


v/ 


12X 


16X 


aox 


26X 


30X 


24X 


2ex 


a 


32X 


TIm  'sopy  filmed  hun  has  lM«n  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

D.B.W«ldon  Library 
UniMraity  of  Wtitam  Ontario 


L'axampiaira  flimi  fut  raprodult  grioa  i  la 
gifi4rosit*  da: 

D.B.  Waldon  Library 
Univwrsity  of  Waitim  Ontario 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  eonsidaring  tha  condltian  and  laglbillty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  In  kaaplng  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacif leatlona. 


Original  copiaa  In  printad  papar  eovara  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  with  tha  front  oovar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  llluatratad  impras- 
ston.  or  tha  back  eovar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  fiimad  baglnning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  llluatratad  impraa* 
sion,  and  anding  on  tlia  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  Imprassion. 


Tha  iast  racordad  frama  on  aach  mieroflcha 
shaH  contain  tha  symbol  — »•  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"),  or  tha  symbol  ▼  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appllaa. 


Laa  Imagaa  suhrantaa  ont  dt*  raproduitaa  b^ac  la 
plua  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  de  la  eonditton  at 
da  la  nattat*  da  i'a»amplalra  film*,  at  an 
conformity  avac  lat  eonditlona  du  contrat  da 
fHmaga. 

Laa  axamplairaa  origlnaux  dont  la  couvartura  it 
papiar  aat  ImprimAa  aont  film^a  an  comman^nt 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarmlnant  salt  par  la 
damlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
dimpraaaion  ou  dlHuatration,  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  saton  la  caa.  Toua  laa  autras  axamplairaa 
origlnaux  aont  fllm4a  an  eommanvant  par  la 
pramlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
dimprassion  ou  dlUustration  at  an  tarmlnant  par 
la  darnlAra  pags  Qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  daa  symbolaa  suhrants  apparattra  sur  ki 
damMra  imaga  da  ehaqua  mieroflcha,  salon  la 
caa:  la  symbola  -^  signifia  "A  8UIVRE",  la 
symbols  ▼  signifia  "HN". 


IMaps,  platas,  cliarts,  ate.,  may  ba  fiimad  at 
different  reduction  ratkM.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entlreiy  included  In  one  expoaura  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hend  comer,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framee  aa 
required.  Tlie  following  diagrama  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lee  cartas,  planchaa,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  ttre 
filmto  i  dee  taux  de  riduction  dlff4rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  eet  trop  grand  pour  itra 
saproduit  en  un  soul  clich4,  II  est  film*  i  pertir 
de  Tangla  supMeur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droite, 
et  de  haut  an  baa,  an  prenant  la  nombre 
d'imagas  nteesselre.  Les  dkigrammee  suhrants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

.»<  ,  ••'/  ; 


the' BlItrSBES  FBOX  SLAT#ftT 


BPGRT 


TO  xaa 


itttiirm's  j)(i{itif|  fmmsimr 


■T 


# 


8.  G.   HOWE. 


■*'5* 


# 


# 


.  BOSTON: 

wBioHT'ft  roTTiBK.  PttnrrKBB.  i  asmsQ  lanb.* 
1864. 


', -f  «■'»#, -'-'.;'^'''^'.'       ^Vk| 


S  V 


114153 


PRBtACB. 


DuBiHO  the  last  sammer,  the  United  States  Freedmea's  Inqoiiy 
Cominiafion  made  an  inveatigation,  through  we  of  its  ii|emben»  of  tb« 
condition  of  the  colored  popolation  of  Canada  West 

This  pamphlet  contains  the  result  of  inquiries  and  obserratioBS  made 
during  the  investigaUon.  At  any  time  but  this,  an  apology  might  be 
necessary  foi:iputiing  forth,  in  such  a  hae^r  and  crude  form,  the  obserra- 
tions  and  speculations  which  it  contwns.  Bet  now,  when  every  body  is 
asking  what  shall  be  done  with  the  negroes, — and  many  are  afhdd  Uiat 
they  cannot  take  care  of  themselves  if  left  alone, — an  iacoonnt  of  the 
manner  in  which  twenty  thousand  are  taking  care  of  themselves  in 
Canada,  may  be  interesting,  even  if  it  be  imperfect,  and  contidn 
superfluous  specuIationB. 

It  is  commonly  said  that  the  Canadian  refugees  are  **  picked  men ; "  that 
the  very  fact  of  their  escape  from  slavery,  is  proof  of  their  superioriQr ; 
and  therefore,  however  w^  they  may  succeed  in  taking  care  of  them- 
selves, it  does  not  prove  that  ordinary  negroes  can  do  the  same.  Ther^ 
is  more  point  than  force  in  this.  In  the  first  place,  there  are  vast  regions 
of  slave  territory,  from  which  escape  to  Canada  is  almost  impossible. 
Secondly,  men  may  lack  Uie  courage  and  skill  v^hich  are  necessary  to 
insure  escape  from  slavery,  but  possess  all  the  qualities  necessary  to 
provide  for  themselves  and  their  families. 

The  local  attachments  of  the  slaves  are  very  strong.  They  ding  far 
more  fondly  than  whites  do  (o  the  ''old  place."  They  wjmt  to  be  free ; 
and  have  a  strong,  though  vague  feeling,  that  freedom  will,  some- 
how, and  at  some  time,  come  to  them.  Some  are  restrained  fmoi 
flight  by  moral  qualities  which  are  in  themselves  excellent.  They 
fondly  love  their  families.  They  often  have  personal  and  tender  attach- 
ment to  their  masters,  and  more  often  to  his  children  and  family.  Th^ 
have  a  feeling  of  loyalty,  and  shrink  from  the  idea  of  betraying  trust. 
Others  again  are  restramed  by  a  feeling  of  religious  obligation,  having  \ 
been  taught  Scripture  in  such  garbled  and  distorted  form,  as  to  make 
them  believe  it  enjoins  obedience  to  masters,  even  if  obedience  leads  to 
all  manner  of  sin.    Finally,  it  is  the  testimony  of  intelligent  men  from 


.»^'.l*-. 


IV 


,**■  .  ■) 


y 


fiytO 


the  Slave  States,  who  know  the  Canadian  refugees,  that  they  are  fait- 
representatives  of  the  colored  population,  free  and  s;ave,  of  the  Border 
and  Bliddle  States. 

No  I  the  refugees  in  Canada  earn  a  living,  and  gather  propertj' ;  they 
marry  and  respect  womei ;  they  build  churches,  and  send  their  chi!]ren 
to  schools ;  they  improve  in  manners  and  morals, — not  because  they  are 
"  picked  men,"  but  simply  because  they  are  free  men.  Each  of  them 
may  say,  as  millions  will  soon  say, — "  When  I  was  a  dove,  I  spake  as  a 
slave,  I  understood  as  a  alave,  I  thought  as  a  $lave  ;  but  when  I  became 
a  free  man,  I  put  away  slavish  things." 

The  writer  desires  to  express  his  thanks  for  the  kind  and  courteous 
manner  in  which  gentlemen,  in  various  parts  of  Canada,  endeavored  to 
facilitate  1^  inquiries.  All  were  civil  and  kind ;  but  Messrs.  Thouas 
Hennino  and  McGann,  of  Toronto;  Dr.  Litchfield,  of  King- 
ston ;  Rev.  HiRAU  Wilson  and  Dr.  Mack,  of  St.  Catherines ;  Rev. 
Mr.  Kino,  of  Buxton ;  Mr.  McCullum  and  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Howard,  of 
Hamilton ;  Dr.  A.  T.  Jones  and  Mr.  Thomas  Webb,  of  London ;  Mr. 
J.  W.  Sparks,  of  Chatham,  were  very  usefi^l. 

But  he  would  especially  acknowledge  his  obligation  to  Mr.  J.  M.  W. 
Yerrinton,  Secretary  of  the  Commission,  who  accompanied  him  as 
Reporter,  and  who,  by  uncommon  intelligence  and  tact,  assisted  in  gath- 
ering a  great  deal  of  valuable  information.  This  is  added  to  the  large 
body  of  evidence  concerning  the  condition  of  the  colored  people  in 
various  parts  of  the  United  States,  gathered  by  the  Freedmen's  Inquiry 
Commission,  and  will  be  given  with  their  final  Report. 


S.  6.  H. 


Boston,  December  81, 1863. 


n 


Messrs.  Robert  Dale  Owen  and  James  McKAYfe, 

Of  the  Freedmen's  Inquiry  Commission : 

Gentlemen, — ^The  undersigned  respectftilly  asks  leave 
to  make  through  you,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  the 
foUowmg  Report  of  his  observations  of  the  condition  of 
the  colored  people  of  Canada  West. 

The  fact  that  many  thousands  of  blacks  and  mulat- 
toes,  who  have  fled  from  slavery,  or  from  social  oppres- 
sion in  this  country,  are  living  in  Upper  Canada  as  free 
men,  » 'ith  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  British  sub- 
jectf,,  is  too  important  to  be  overlooked  by  a  Commission 
of  Inquiry  into  the  condition  and  capacity  of  the  colored 
population  of  the  United  States,  just  set  free. 

These  emigrants,  or  rather  exiles,  are  fair  representa- 
tives of  oiir  colored  people.  They  are  in  about  the 
same  proportion  of  pure  Africans,  half-breeds,  quarter- 
breeds,  octoroons,  and  of  others  in  whom  the  dark  shade 
grows  fainter  and  fainter,  until  it  lingers  in  the  finger- 
nails alone.  The  greater  part  have  been  slaves,  or  are 
the  children  of  slaves ;  but  many  were  bom  free,  of  free 
parents.  They  have  been,  during  many  years,  in  about 
the  same  condition  as  that  in  which  »ur  newly-freed 
people  now  find  themselves.  They  have  been  trying  the 
experiment,  for  their  race,  of  their  capacity  for  sdf- 
support  and  self-guidance,  under  the  aegis  of  the  law, 
indeed,  but  amidst  an  unsympathizing  population,  just 
as  our  freedmen  are  about  to  do. 


2 


It  became  very  desirable,  therefore,  to  learn  the 
history,  condition,  and  prospects  of  the  colored  popula- 
tion of  Canada,  in  view  of  the  light  which  might  be 
thrown  upon  the  general  subject  which  the  Commission  is 
to  investigate.  But  this  could  not  be  done  without  per- 
sonal inspection  and  careful  study.  The  undersigned, 
therefore,  with  your  consent,  undertook  this,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Canada,  in  company  with  Mr.  J.  M.  W. 
Yerrinton,  Secretary  and  Reporter  of  the  Commission. 

We  visited  all  the  large  towns,  in  which  the  colored 
population  exist  in  considerable  numbers,  St.  Catherines, 
Hamilton,  London,  Toronto,  Chatham,  Buxton,  Windsor, 
Maiden,  Colchee^^er^  and  spent  in  each  all  the  time  neces- 
sary to  get  a  good  idea  of  the  people.  We  inspected 
many  small  settlements  and  detached  farms,  occupied  by 
colored  people.  We  saw  the  mayors  and  city  officials  in 
most  of  the  cities,  the  sheriflFs,  jailers,  constables,  the 
schoolmasters  and  the  clergy,  and  took  their  testimony. 
We  also  saw  and  conversed  with  a  great  many  colored 
people  at  their  houses,  shops  and  farms. 

The  testimony  of  all  these  persons  was  taken  down 
carefully,  word  for  word,  and  is  preserved.  Some  of  it 
will  be  introduced  into  this  Report ; — more,  indeed,  of 
that  given  by  refugees  than  may  at  first  seem  called  for ; 
but  it  is  to  be  considered  that  all  the  influences  which 
formerly  acted  upon  them,  and  moulded  their  character, 
have  been  until  within  a  few  months  acting  upon  the 
colored  population,  whose  condition  and  prospects  the 
Commission  is  to  study.    ' 

The  negro,  like  other  men,  naturally  desires  to  live  in 
the  light  of  truth ;  but  he  hides  in  the  shadow  of  false- 


hood,  more  or  less  deeply,  according  as  his  safety  or 
welfare  seems  to  require  it.  Other  things  equal,  the 
freer  a  people,  the  more  truthful ;  and  only  the  perfectly 
free  and  fearless  are  perfectly  truthful. 

Already  the  negroes  in  Canada  show  the  effect  of  free- 
dom and  of  fearlessness. 

"I  served  twenty-five  years  in  slavery,"  testifiet.  William 
Grose,  "  and  about  five  I  have  been  free.  I  feol  now  like  a  man, 
while  before  I  felt  more  as  though  I  were  but  a  brute.  When 
in  the  United  States,  if  a  white  man  spoke  to  mo,  I  would  feol 
frightened,  whether  I  were  in  the  right  or  wrong ;  but  now  it  is 
quite  a  dififerent  thing :  if  a  white  man  speaks  to  me,  I  can 
look  him  right  in  the  eyes, — if  he  were  to  insult  mo,  I  could 
give  him  an  answer.  I  have  the  rights  and  privileges  of  any 
other  man.  I  am  now  living  with  my  wife  and  children,  and 
Moing  very  well."* 

Said  David  West,  a  man  of  religious  character  : — 

"  I  myself  was  treated  well  in  slavery.  I  hired  my  time,  and 
paid  my  master  two  hundred  dollars  a  year,  but  my  mastor  died, 
and  I  heard  that  I  was  to  be  sold,  which  would  separate  mo  from 
my  family,  and  knowing  no  law  which  would  defend  me,  I 
concluded  to  come  away.     *»»♦•«♦ 

"  I  have  known  slaves  to  bo  hungry,  but  when  thoir  master 
asked  them  if  they  had  enough,  they  would,  through  fear,  say 
*  Yes.'  So  if  asked  if  thoy  wish  to  be  free,  they  will  say 
'  No.'  .  I  knew  a  case  where  there  was  a  division  of  between 
fifty  and  sixty  slaves  among  hoirs,  one  of  whom  intended  to  set 
free  her  part.  So,  wishing  to  consult  them,  sho  asked  of  such 
and  such  ones,  if  they  would  like  to  be  free,  and  thoy  all  said 
'  No : ' — for  if  they  had  said  yes,  and  had  then  fallen  to  the 
other  heirs,  they  would  be  sold, — and  so  they  said  '  No,'  against 
thoir  own  consciences.  But  there  will  be  a  time  when  all  will 
be  judged."t 

*  The  Refugee,  or  Narratives  of  Fugitive  Slaves  in  Canada,  by  Benjamin 
Drew. 


While,  therefore,  the  testimony  of  negroes  in  Canada 
must  be  taken  with  due  allowance  for  liability  to  error 
and  disposition  to  exaggerate,  it  must  not  be  considered 
as  testimony  taken  from  the  same  class  of  persons  in  the 
Southern  States  would  be.  There  the  negroes  are  held 
to  be  untruthful,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course.  In 
Canada,  they  are  not.  In  the  South,  they  have  motives 
for  lying  which  do  not  affect  them  in  Canada ;  for,  in  the 
latter,  it  is  evident  that  they  hrve  the  most  entire  reliance 
upon  the  protection  which  the  law  gives  them.  Complain 
as  they  may  about  other  matters,  they  all  admit  that ; 
and  it  is  a  common  remark  with  them,  that  they  are  not 
now  afraid  to  say  things  that  are  true,  for  "  the  law  will 
bear  them  out  in  it."  ..  • 

Said  Leonard  Harrod: — 

"  A  man  can  get  more  information  in  Canada  about  slavery, 
than  he  can  in  the  South.  There  I  would  have  told  you  to  ask 
master,  because  I  would  have  been  afraid  to  trust  a  white  man : 
I  would  have  been  afraid  tliat  you  would  tell  my  master.  Many 
a  time  my  master  has  told  me  things  to  try  me.  Among  others, 
he  said  he  thought  of  moving  up  to  Cincinnati,  and  asked  me 
if  I  did  not  want  to  go.  I  would  tell  him, '  No !  I  do  n't  want 
to  go  to  none  of  your  free  countries  ! '  Then  he  *d  laugh, — 
but  I  did  want  to  come — surely  I  did.  A  colored  man  tells  the 
truth  here, — there  he  is  afraid  to."* 


The  testimony  of  these  refugees  was  given  with  simpli- 
city and  apparent  honesty.  It  was  given  by  persons  not 
connected  with  each  other ;  and  mostly,  by  persons  not 
acquainted  with  each  other.  Taken  as  a  whole,  and  sus- 
tained by  the  testimpny  collected  from  over  a  hundred 

,;     >     :v   ;>  •  Drew,  p.  310..    .    ,v;      .. 


5 


\  < 


refugees,  by  Mr.  Drew,  several  years  ago,  it  bears  strong 
internal  evidence  of  truth.  It  is  a  fearful  record  of  the 
meanness,  the  vices  and  the  crimes  into  which  men  are 
apt  to  be  drawn,  when  they  are  wicked  enough,  or  weak 
enough,  to  commit  the  folly  and  sin  of  holding  their 
fellow-men  as  slaves.  ,  '  ' 

From  the  information  thus  gathered,  from  all  sorts  of 
%ien,  the  undersigned  endeavored  to  form  a  just  opinion 
of  the  material,  moral  and  social  condition  of  the  colored 
people  of  Canada  West. 

He  endeavored,  moreover,  to  gather  the  statistics  of 
population,  of  property,  of  crime,  of  mortality,  and  the 
like.  This  was  difficult,  because  the  law  does  not  recog- 
nize distinction  of  color,  and  the  official  records  do  not 
show  it,  except  in  the  prison  returns.  For  instance,  the 
roll  of  tax-payers  does  not  distinguish  between  whites 
and  blacks ;  but  the  local  officers  generally  know  every 
individual,  and  by  their  assistance,  which  was  generally 
rendered  very  cheerfully,  the  exact  number  of  colored 
tax-payers^  the  amount  of  their  tax,  and  the  comparative 
amount  paid  by  blacks  and  whites,  in  several  places,  were 
ascertained. 

With  this  statement  of  the  object  of  the  inquiry,  and 
of  the  sources  of  information,  the  undersigned  proceeds 
to  report  the  result  of  his  observations  and  thoughts  upon 
this  remarkable  emigration,  under  the  following  heads : — 

First.  The  history  of  the  emigration,  its  causes,  its 
progress,  and  the  actual  number  of  the  emigrants. 

Second,  The  physical  condition  of  the  emigrants,  as 
a£fected  by  climate,  soil,  intermarriage,  and  the  like. 

Third.  Their  material  condition,  as  shown  by  their 


property,  taxes,  pauperism,  and  the  appearance  oi  cheir 
houses  and  farms. 

Fourth.  Their  mental  and  moral  condition,  as  shown 
by  the  general  character  they  bear,  the  condition  of  their 
schools,  churches,  societies,  and  their  mode  of  life. 

Fifth.  General  inferences,  to  be  drawn  from  the  expe- 
rience of  the  colored  people  in  Canada,  as  to  the  future 
condition  of  thos»e  in  the  United  States,  isi  •>  y,>'Mt  .       • 

Liberty  will  be  taken  to  enlarge  upon  such  matters  as 
seem  to  throw  any  light  upon  the  difficult  problems 
which  must  soon  be  solved  in  the  United  States,  by 
reason  of  the  important  changes  in  the  legal  and  social 
condition  of  so  many  of  its  inhabitants. 


'         .       *     ,,  Section  1. — History.  a-, 

Canada  has  not  been  long  a  place  of  refuge  for  the 
oppressed.  The  Indians,  imitating  our  pious  ancestors, 
stole  or  bought  negroes,  and  held  them  as  daves.  Sophia 
Pooley,  who  was  living  very  recently,  though  over  ninety, 
says : —  * 


(( 


I  was  stolen  from  my  parents  when  I  was  seven  years  old, 
and  brought  to  Canada ;  that  was  long  before  the  American 
Revolutior,  There  were  hardly  any  white  people  in  Canada 
then — nothing  here  but  Indians  and  wild  beasts.  Many  a  deer 
I  have  helped  catch  on  the  lakes  in  a  canoe:  I  was  a  woman 
grown  when  the  first  governor  of  Canada  came  from  England : 
that  was  Governor  Simcoe. 

"  My  parents  were  slaves  in  New  York  State.  My  master's 
sons-in-law,  Daniel  Cutwaters  and  Simon  Knox,  came  into  the 
garden  where  my  sister  and  I  were  playing  among  the  currant 
bushes,  tied  their  handkerchiefs  over  our  mouths,  carried  us  to 
a  vessel,  put  us  in  the  hold,  and  sailed  up  the  river.    I  know 


not  how  far  nor  how  long — it  was  dark  there  all  the  time. 
Then  we  came  by  land.  I  remember  when  we  came  to  Genesee, 
— there  were  Indian  settlements  there, — Onondagas,  Senecas, 
and  Oneidas.  I  guess  I  was  the  first  colored  girl  brought  into 
Canada.  The  white  men  sold  us  at  Niagara  to  old  Indian 
Brant,  the  king.  I  lived  with  old  Brant  about  twelve  or 
thirteen  years,  as  nigh  as  I  can  toll.  Brant  lived  part  of  the 
time  at  Mohawk,  part  at  Ancaster,  part  at  Preston,  then  called 
Lower  Block  :  the  Upper  Block  was  at  Snyder's  Mills.  While 
I  lived  with  old  Brant,  we  caught  the  deer.  It  was  at  Dundas, 
at  the  outlet.  We  would  let  the  hounds  loose,  and  when  we 
heard  them  bark,  we  would  run  for  the  canoe — Peggy,  and 
Mary,  and  Katy — Brant's  daughters  and  I.  Brant's  sons, 
Joseph  and  Jacob,  would  wait  on  the  shore  to  kill  the  deer 
when  we  fetched  him  in. 

"  King  Brant's  third  wife,  my  mistress,  was  a  barbarous  crea- 
ture. She  could  talk  English,  but  she  would  not.  She  would 
tell  me  in  Indian  to  do  things,  and  then  hit  me  with  any  thing 
that  came  to  hand,  because  I  did  not  understand  her.  I  have  a 
scar  on  my  head,  from  a  wound  she  gave  me  with  a  hatchet ; 
and  this  long  scar  over  my  eye  is  where  she  cut  me  with  a 
knife.  *        *         »        #        Brant  was  very  angry,  when 

he  came  home,  at  what  she  had  done,  and  punished  her  as  if 
she  had  been  a  child.  Said  he, '  You  know  I  adopted  her  as 
one  of  the  family,  and  now  you  are  trying  to  put  all  the  work 
on  Ifer.' 

"  I  liked  the  Indians  pretty  well  in  their  place  ;  some  of  them 
were  very  savage,  some  friendly.  I  have  seen  them  have  the 
war  dance,  in  a  ring,  with  only  a  cloth  about  them,  and  painted 
up.  They  did  not  look  ridiculous ;  they  looked  savage — enough 
to  frighten  an)  body.  One  would  take  a  bowl,  and  rub  the ' 
edge  with  a  knotted  stick ;  then  they  would  raise  their  toma- 
hawks and  whoop.  Brant  had  two  colored  men  for  slaves ;  one 
of  them  was  the  father  of  John  Patten,  who  lives  over  yonder ; 
the  other  called  himself  Simon  Ganseville.  There  was  but  one 
other  Indian  that  I  knew  who  owned  a  slave.  I  had  no  care  to 
get  my  freedom.  ,         , 

"  At  twenty  years  old,  I  was  sold  by  Brant  to  an  Englishman 
in  Ancaster,  for  one  hundred  dollars.    His  name  was  Samuel 


Hatt,  aud  I  Uved  with  him  seven  years ;  then  the  white  people 
said  I  was  free,  aud  put  me  up  to  running  away.  He  did  not 
stop  me ;  he  said  he  could  not  take  the  law  into  his  own  hands. 
Then  I  lived  in  what  is  now  Waterloo.  I  married  Robert 
Pooley,  a  black  man.  He  ran  away  with  a  white  woman  ;  he 
is  dead."* 

The  French  tolerated  the  "  Instituticn."  Thej-e  je 
sad  monuments  of  the  barbaujous  system  still  standing. 
At  Maiden,  you  may  see  "  the  bloody  tree "  used  as  a 
whipping-post  for  slaves.  The  English,  when  they 
seized  Canada,  not  only  tolerated  the  existing  system  of 
slavery,  but  expressly  provided  for  importing  negroes 
from  Africa  and  elsewhere,  by  an  Act  in  the  thirtieth 
year  of  George  III.,  "  for  encouraging  new  settlers  in 
his  Majesty's  Colonies  and  Plantations  in  North  America." 
By  virtue  of  this  Act,  negroes  were  imported  and  held 
as  slaves.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  some  escaped 
from  their  masters  and  fled  to  the  United  States,  to  enjoy 
freedom  there.  A*  case  of  this  kind  was  related  to  us  by 
Mrs.  Amy  Martin.     She  says: —     •  '  «  ^  T 

• 

"  My  father's  name  was  James  Ford.  He  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, but  was  sold  to  Kentucky,  and  was  there  taken  by  the 
Indians.  He  was  eighty-six  years  old  when  he  died,  and  would 
be  over  one  hundred  years  old,  if  he  were  now  Uving.  The 
Jndians  brought  my  father  to  Canada — I  think  to  Fort  Maiden. 
He  was  held  here  by  the  Indians  as  a  slave,  and  sold,  I  think  he 
said,  to  a  British  officer,  who  was  a  very  cruel  master,  and  he 
escaped  from  him,  and  came  to  Ohio.  He  got  off  in  a  sail-boat, 
and  came  to  Cleveland,  I  believe,  first,  and  made  his  way  from 
there  to  Erie,  where  he  settled.  After  I  cam'=>  over  here,  I 
married  a  man  who  was  also  a  fugitive,  and  the  old  folks  moved 
over  here  to  be  with  me  in  their  old  age.  When  we  were  in 
Erie,  we  lived  a  little  way  out  of  the  village,  and  our  house  was 

*,     .  •Drew,  p.  102. 


a  place  of  refuge  for  fugitives — a  station  of  the  underground 
railroad.  Sometimes  there  would  be  thirteen  or  fourteen  fugi- 
tives at  our  place.  My  parents  used  to  do  a  great  deal  towards 
helping  them  on  to  Canada.  They  were  sometimes  pursued  by 
their  masters,  and  often  advertised;  and  their  masters  would 
come  right  to  Erie.  We  used  to  be  pretty  careful,  and  never 
got  into  any  trouble  on  that  account,  that  I  know  of.  The 
fugitives  would  be  told  to  come  to  our  house." 

The  act  of  thirtieth  George  III.  was  in  full  and 
binding  force  until  July  9,  1793.  Then  the  Provin- 
cial Government  declared  as  follows  :  "  That  whereas 
it  is  unjust  that  a  people  who  enjoy  freedom  by  law 
should  encourage  the  introduction  of  slaves,  and  whereas 
it  is  highly  •  ipedient  to  abolish  slavery  in  this  Province 
so  far  as  the  same  may  gradually  be  done  without  violating 
private  property"  &c.,  therefore  the  authority  "  to  grant 
license  for  impoi  Sg  any  negro  or  negroes  into  this 
Province  is  hereby  repealed." 

The  2d  section  provided  that  nothing  in  the  Ant 
should  extend  to  contracts  already  made. 

The  3d  section  provided  that  children  bom  of  female 
slaves,  after  the  passage  of  the  Act,  should  remain  in  the 
service  of  the  owner  of  the  mother  until  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  when  they  should  be  discharged.  Itfurther 
provided  for  registration  of  births,  and  penalties  for 
neglecting  the  same. 

Section  4th  provided  remedies  against  undue  detention 
of  such  persons  beyond  the  age  of  twenty-five :  also  for 
the  freedom  of  children  bom  to  them  while  under  twenty- 
five  years  of  age. 

^  Section  5th  provided  for  security  to  be  given  by 
masters  liberating  their  slaves,  that  such  persons  should 


19 

not  be  chargeable  to  the  public;  but  no  part  of  the  Act 
provided  for  the  freedom  of  any  slave  bom  before  July  9, 
'i793;  nor  has  any  subsequent  Colonial  legislation 
done  it. 

Nothing  in  this  Act  affected  the  status  of  any  negro 
slave  bom  previous  to  the  date  of  it.  On  the  contrary, 
the  2d  section  provides  that  nothing  in  it  shall  disturb 
existing  relations.  The  legislation'  was  prospective 
merely ;  and  there  has  been  none  subsequently.  There- 
fore a  slave  bom  before  July  1,  1793,  would  have 
been  legally  a  slave  until  the  general  abolition  of  slavery 
in  all  the  British  colonies  by  act  of  Parliament  in  .1833. 
Thus  slavery  had  a  legal  existence  in  Canada  many  years 
after  it  had  bipen  abolished  in  several  States  of  the 
tJnited  States. 

Massachusetts  abolished  it  by  her  Bill  of  Rights  in 
1780;  New  Hampshire  in  1792 ;  New  York  in  1799; 
Tiew  Jersey  in  1820 ;  and  it  was  virtually  abolished  in 
the  other  Northern  States  before  1830.  ,jrj„ij 

But  though  the  Canadian  Parliament,  with  the  usual 
veneration  of  legislators  for  things  hallowed  by  age, 
merely  scotched  slavery,  public  opinion  (and  the  cold) 
would  not  let  it  drag  out  its  legal  life,  but  killed  it  before 
the  beginning  of  this  century.  »  i. ...-    v, 

For  several  years,  the  existence  of  freedom  in  Canada 
did  not  affect  slavery  in  the  United  States.  Now  and 
then  a  slave  was  intelligent  and  bold  enough  to  cross  the 
vast  forest  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Lakes,  and  find  a 
refuge  beyond  them.  Such  cases,  however,  were,  at 
first,  v<}ry  rare,  and  knowledge  of  them  was  confined  to 
few;   but  they  increased,  early  in  this  century;    and 


n 

the  mmor  gradually  spread  among  th*e  slaves  of  the  South- 
em  States,  that  there  was,  far  away  under  the  north  star, 
a  land  where  the  flag  of  the  Union  did  not  float ;  where 
the  law  declared  all  men  free  and  equal ;  where  the 
people  respected  the  law,  and  the  government,  if  need 
be,  enforced  it. 

The  distance  was  great;  the  path  difficult  and  danger- 
ous ;  and  the  land,  itisteacl  of  milk  and  honey,  abounded 
in  snow  and  ice.  It  was  hardly  a  place  in  which  white 
men  could  live,  much  less  black  men;  who,  moreover, 
were  told  monstrous  stories  about  it,  in  order  to  deter 
them  from  fleeing  thither. 

"After  we  began  to  hear  about  Canada,"  said  J.  Lindsey, 
"  our  master  used  to  tell  us  all  manner  of  stories  about  what  a 
dreadful  place  it  was ;  and  we  believed  some  of  them,  but  some 
we  didn't.  .When  they  told  us  that  we  must  pay  half  of  our 
wages  to  the  Queen,  every  day,  it  didn't  seem  strange  nor 
wrong ;  but  when  they  said  it  was  so  cold  there  that  men  going 
mowing  had  to  break  the  ice  with  their  scythef,  I  didn't  believe 
that,  because  it  was  onreasonable.  I  knew  grass  wouldnH  grow 
where  ice  was  all  the  time."  "  I  was  told  before  I  left  Virginia," 
said  Dan  Fackiirt,  "  I  have  heard  it  as  common  talk,  that  the 
wild  geese  were  so  common  in  Canada,  that  thsy  would  scratch 
a  man's  eyes  out ;  that  corn  wouldn't  grow  there,  nor  any  thing 
else  but  rice ;  that  every  thing  they  had  there  was  imported." 

Nothing  invited  the  negroes  to  this  cold  region,  except 
the  still  small  voice  of  Freedom ;  but  some  of  them  heard 
and  answered  that.  They  braved  the  imaginary  dangers, 
overcame  the  real  ones ;  and  many  found  that  resolute  and 
industrious  men,  even  if  black,  could  live  and  enjoy  the 
rights  of  men  in  Canada. 

Some,  not  content  with  personal  freedom  and  happi- 
ness, went  secretly  back  to  their  old  homes,  and  brought 
away  their  wives  and  children  at  much  peril  and  cost. 


19 

The  rumor  widened ;  the  fugitives  so  increased,  that 
a  secret  pathway,  since  called  the  underground  railroad, 
was  soon  formed,  which  ran  by  the  huts  of  blacks  in  the 
Slave  States,  and  the  houses  of  good  Samaritans  in  the 
Free  States  ;  and  they  placed  by  its  borders  helps  which 
the  wayfarer  could  find,  even  in  the  night.  Hundreds 
trod  this  path  every  year,  but  they  did  not  attract  much 
public  notice. 

The  slaves  have  always  instinctively  felt  that  the 
'enemies  of  our  country  must  be  their  friends,  and  that 
war  time  was  good  time  for  them.  Consequently,  they 
improved  the  opportunity  of  the  war  of  1812-14,  and 
escaped  into  Mexico  and  Canada.  The  loss  of  "  prop- 
erty "  became  so  great  in  the  following  years,  that  in 
1826,  Mr.  Clay,  Secretary  of  State,  instructed  Mr.  Gal- 
latin, our  Minister  to  St.  James,  to  propose  to  the  British 
Government  a  stipulation  for  "  a  mutual  surrender  of  all 
persons  held  to  *  service  or  labor ^  under  the  laws  of  either 
parttf^  who  escape  into  the  territort/  of  the  other'' 

"  Our  object,"  said  the  Secretary,  "  is  to  provide  for 
a  growing  evil."     ,;  ,(      ;.   .j  , 


<Ai^<. 


Early  in  1827,  he  again  called  Mr.  Gallatin's  attention 
to  the  matter,  informing  him  that  a  treaty  had  been 
negotiated  with  Mexico,  by  which  she  had  engaged  to 
return  our  "  runaway  slaves."*  The  Minister  was  to  press 
upon  the  British  government  the  importance  of  the  stipu- 
lations about  mutual  surrender,  in  view  of  the  danger  of 
the  escape  of  slaves  from  the  West  India  Islands  to  our 
shores.     Thus  the  great  Republic  was  not  only  to  change 


*  The  treaty  was  negotiated,  but  the  Mexican  Sunatp  refused  to  confirm  it.- 
Jay\  View.  '■  — ---^^-'-^-^ ■-  v^'-nn-^-.rk'l'rf  .F*7 


13 


its  fundamental  policy  of  being  a  place  of  refuge  for  all 
the  oppressed,  but  try  to  shut  up  such  places  elsewhere. 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Gallatin  communicated 
the  manly  conclusion  of  the  British  government,  that 
"  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  them  to  agree  to  a  stipulation 
for  the  surrender  of  fugitive  slaves.'* 

But  the  power  behind  the  White  House,  which  ever 
directed  the  national  policy  in  the  interests  of  slavery, 
persisted  in  its  purpose. 

On  the  tenth  of  May,  1828,  a  resolution  was  passed 
the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  without  a 
division  of  the  House,  "  requesting  the  President  to  open  a 
negotiation  with  the  British  government  in  the  view  to  obtain 
an  arrangement  whereby  fugitive  slaves,  who  have  taken 
refuge  in  the  Canadian  Provinces  of  that  government,  rnay 
be  surrendered  by  the  functionaries  thereof,  to  their  masters, 
upon  their  making  satisfactory  proof  of  their  ownership  of 
said  slaves." 

June  13,  1828,  Mr.-  Clay  transmitted  this  resolution 
to  our  new  Minister,  and  again  spoke  of  the  evil  "  as  a 
growing  one,  well  calculated  to  disturb  the  good  neigh- 
borhood which  we  are  desirous  of  cultivating  with  the 
adjacent  British  Provinces." 

Eager  to  seize  their  prey,  the  slaveholders  could  not 
brook  diplomatic  delay,  but  at  the  very  next  session 
procured  the  passage  of  a  resolve  calling  on  the  President 
to  communicate  the  result  of  the  negotiation;  and  he 
showed  that  he  had  been  sv/ift  to  run  before  their  wishes, 
by  sending  in  a  mass  of  documents  bearing  upon  the 
subject. 

The  result  of  the  negotiation  was,  as  Mr.  Barbour,  our 


14 


new  Minister,  wrote  October  2d,  1828,  that  Lord  Aberdeen 
insisted  "  that  the  law  of  Parliament  gave  freedom  to 
every  slave  who  effected  his  landing  upon  British  ground."* 

Thus  the  Monarchy  rebuked  the  Republic;  spumed 
the  pi^posal  of  a  mutual  betrayal  of  exiles,  and  assured 
the  sanctity  of  the  Canadian  asylum  to  fugitive  slaves. 

Meantime,  free  colored  people,  mulattoec,  offspring  of 
negroes  and  whites,  were  multiplying  rapidly,  and  spread- 
ing over  the  whole  Union.  These  half-breeds,  if  not 
equal  to  the  whites  in  mental  force,  were  not  stupid,  nor 
lazy,  but  thrifty  and  shrewd;  and  they  prospered  in 
worldly  things.  The'r  prosperity  begat  the  desire  of 
security  for  their  freedom,  which  they  could  not  have  in 
the  South ;  and  for  social  rights,  which  they  could  not 
have,  either  in  the  North  or  South.  The  barbarous  legis- 
.lation,  in  some  of  the  so-caUed  free  States,  bore  very 
hardly  upon  these  people.  Therefore,  they  too  began  to 
look  to  Canada  as  a  place  of  refuge.f  This  gave  another 
impetus  to  the  emigration. 

Meantime,  the  steady  progress  of  the  slave  power 
toward  complete  domination  of  the  whole  land  culminated 
in  the  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill.  This  opened 
all  the  United  States  to  slave  hunters,  and  put  in  peril  the 
liberty  of  every  one  who  had  even  the  faintest  tinge 
of  negro  blood.  Of  course  it  gave  great  increase  to  the 
emigration,  and  free-bom  blacks  fled  with  the  slaves  from 

•  State  Papers  1827-8,  Vol.  1,  Doc.  19. 

f  "  Owing,  among  other  causes,  to  the  extremes  of  climate  in  the  more 
northern  States,  and  in  other  States  to  expulsive  enactments  of  the  Legisla- 
tures, the  free  colored  show  a  decrease  of  numbers  during  tlie  past  ten  years 
according  to  the  census,  in  the  following  ten  wtaies." — U.  S.  CeruuSf  Prelim. 
iJ«p., '60,  p.  6.  ..,.;..     .^r,     .,.. 


15 


a  land  in  which  their  birthright  of  freedom  was  no  longer 
secure.* 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  general  causey  and  his- 
tory of  the  remarkable  exodus  of  colored  people  from 
the  United  States. 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  number  of  exiles  who 
have  found  refuge  in  Canada  since  1800 ;  but  according 
to  the  most  careful  estimates,  it  must  be  between  thirty 
and  forty  thousand. 

It  is  difficult,  moreover,  to  ascertain  the  present  num- 
ber. The  census  of  1850  is  confused.  It  puts  the 
number  in  Upper  Canada  at  2,502  males,  and  2,167 
females.t  But  in  a  note  it  is  stated,  "  there  are  about 
8,000  colored  persons  in  Western  Canada.X  This  word 
about  is  an  admission  of  the  uncertainty ;  and,  as  if  to 
make  that  uncertainty  greater,  the  same  census  in  another 
part  puts  the  number  in  Western  Canada  at  4,669.§ 

The  abstract  of  the  census  of  1860  makes  the 
colored  population  to  be  only  11,223.  Doubtless,  in 
some  districts,  the  distinction  between  colored  and 
whites  was  not  made.  At  any  rate,  the  number  is 
greatly  under-stated,  because  in  several  cities,  the 
records  show  that  there  must  be  a  greater  num- 
ber than  is  given  in  the  census.     For  instance,  in  St. 

.  .  .  *"  New  York  has  increased  from  3,097,394  to  8,880,735,  exhibiting 
an  augmentation  of  783,311  inhabitants,  being  at  the  rate  of  25.20  per  cent. 
The  free  colored  population  has  fallen  off  61  since  1850,  a  diminution  to  be 
accounted  for  probably  by  the  operation  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  which 
induced  many  colored  persons  to  migrate  Jurther  North," — U.  S.  Census,  '60, 
Prelim.  Rep.,  p.  4.  • 

t  See  Qjensus  Report  of  the  Canadas,  1850,  Vol.  1.,  p.  817. 

tibid.,  Vol.  1.,  p.  37.  :       '      >  A^    - 

§  Ibid.,  Vol.  2.,  p.  8.       J^  -      -  •     -  ^— -    ^  -- '  . 


16 


III' 


■!  ^ 
hi  i 


Catherines,  C.  P.  Camp,  Town  Clerk,  said  to  us : — "  The 
Government  Census  is  all  wrong  (about  our  place).  They 
made  the  population  6,284  by  last  Census ;  but  we  took  the 
Census  a  year  ago  and  made  it  7,007."  • 

Indeed,  the  town  records  show  that  thpre  are  112 
colored  tax  payers!  In  the  Government  School,  the 
attendance  of  colored  children  in  winter  is  from  130 
to  140.  About  forty  were  attending  one  private  school. 
The  inference  from  these  data  would  be  that  the  colored 
population  is,  as  was  represented  to  us  by  Elder  Perry 
and  others,  about  700.     The  Census  makes  it  only  472 ! 

In  Hamilton  are  three  colored  churches,  two  of  which 
we  attended.  The  colored  population  is  probably  over 
500,  but  the  Census  makes  it  only  62 ! 

In  Toronto,  Mr.  George  A.  Barber,  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  School  Trustees,  furnished  us  a  certified  copy 
of  the  number  of  colored  residents,  amounting  to  934, 
but  the  Census  makes  it  only  510. 

The  Mayor  of  London,  C.  W.,  estimated  the  number 
of  families  among  the  colored  people  at  75,  but  the 
Census  makes  the  whole  colored  population  only  36 ! 

There  has  been  no  movement  of  the  colored  population 
iBufficient  to  explain  such  discrepancies,  and  the  conclusion 
is  that  the  Census  of  1850,  and  that  of  1860,  included 
some  of  the  colored  people  in  the  white  column. 

The  report  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society  of  Toronto,  in 
1852,  estimated  the  colored  population  of  Canada  West 
at  30,000.  • 

Intelligent  people,  acquainted  with  the  matter,  e^imate 
the  present  populatipn  at  from  20,000  to  30,000.     Our 


own  calculation  is,  that  it  does  not  fall  short  of  15,000, 
nor  exceed  20,000 .• 

However  imperfect  these  latter  estimates  may  be,  it  is 
evident,  from  the  number  known  to  have  entered  Canada, 
that  the  births  have  never  equalled  the  deaths,  and 
therefore,  there  has  been  no  natural  increase,  but  on  the 
contrary,  a  natural  loss ;  and  that  without  constant  immi- 
gration, the .  colored  population  must  diminish  and  soon 
disappear. 

Section  2. — Physical  Condition^  8fc. 

Most  of  the  colored  people  of  Cana4^  were  bom  in 
the  United  States.  In  order,  therefore,  to  understand 
their  physical  character,  we  should  look  to  the  stock 
whence  they  sprang,  and  to  the  changes  wrought  upon 
it  by  a  colder  climate  and  new  mode  of  life. 

The  proportion  of  pure  Africans  among  the  colored 
people  of  the  United  States  is  very  small  indeed.  Even 
upon  the  Southern  plantations  they  are  rare.  Those 
imported  from  Africa  are  soon  affected  in  their  appear* 
ance,  especially  in  that  of  the  skin,  by  the  climate 
and  by  slave  life ;  and  their  direct  descendants,  owing 
to  mixture  of  individuals  from  different  tribes,  rapidly 
lose  their  tribal  peculiarities.  But  their  direct  descend- 
ants are  comparatively  few ;  the  mulattoes,  offspring  of 
the  cross  between  negroes  and  whites,  are  more  numer- 
ous, and  they,  of  course,  depart  more  widely  frciii?  the 
original  type. 
*  During  the  early  period  of  our  history,  Africans, 
mainly  Congoes,  were  landed   all   along  the   Atlantic 

i  _.  *  See  Appendix,  Note  1.  ^    ..v.  k 


w 


tK- 


III, 


coast.  The  importation  into  the  Northern  Colonies  was 
never  large ;  it  soon  grew  less,  and  ceased  entirely  before 
the  close  of  the  last  century ;  while  the  importation  into 
the  Southern  regions,  always  larger,  was  kept  up  longer ; 
and  some  have  been  smuggled  in  within  a  very  few 
years. 

The  crossing  with  the  Vhite  race  immediately  began 
every  where,  and  although  it  did  not  last  long  in  the 
North,  it  has  been  kept  up  vigorously  in  the  South  to  the 
present  time. 

From  this  crossing  of  races  came  that  mulattoism, 
which,  unfortunately,  is  so  wide  spread  among  the  whole 
population  of  the  United  States,  and  whiph  impairs  the 
purity  of  the  national  blood,  taken  as  a  whole. 

Now,  the  fcondition  of  the  Canadian  emigrants,  who 
are  mostly  mulattoes,  goes  to  confirm  what  besides  is  a 
natural  inference,  that  if  this  evil  had  not  been  fostered 
by  social  influences,  it  would  have  been  checked,  and  in 
time,  cured.  '     -   ^    " 

This  certainly  could  have  been  done,  because  the  mulat- 
toes of  the  United  States  are  not  a  race,  but  a  breed  ;  and 
breeds  are  produced,  modified,  and  may  be  made  to 
disappear,  by  social  agencies.  Proofs  of  the  potency  of 
these  agencies  abound.  The  careful  observer  will  find 
them  in  the  demand  and  supply,  and  in  the  geographical 
distribution  of  the  pro,duction8  of  the  breeding  States. 
Different  kinds  of  colored  men  are  demanded,  and  the 
supply  meets  the  demand.  Slender,  light-built  quad- 
roons, or  octoroons,  are  wanted  for  domestic  purposes ; 
dark  and  heavier  men  for  the  field.  Black  women  are 
wanted  for  their  strength  and  fruitfulness ;  yellow  ones 


/  /" 


19 


for  their  beauty  and  comparative  barrenness.  If  they  are 
not  wanted  where  they  are  raised,  they  are  taken  to  the 
proper  market.  Henry  Clay  did  not  like  to  testify  against 
"the  institution,"  yet  he  said,  in  a  speech  before  the 
Kentucky  Colonization  Society,  in  1829  :  "  It  is  believed 
that  nowhere  in  the  farming  portion  of  the  United  States 
would  slave  labor  be  generally  employed,  if  the  proprietors 
were  not  tempted  to  raise  slaves  by  the  high  price  of  the 
southern  markets,  which  keeps  it  up  in  their  own." 
The  consciousness  of  any  purpose  in  all  this  may  be  indig- 
nantly repelled  ;  bat  the  commercial  laws  net ;  and  there 
are  those  who  study  them,  and  trade  upon  them,  as 
much  as  the  breeders  of  cattle  do.  The  proofs  of  this 
are  abundant.  , 

^  Thus  commercial  interests  disturb,  to  a  certain  extent, 
the  natural  laws ;  for  there  is  in  the  social  system,  as 
in  the  individual  body,  a  recuperative  principle  which 
tends  to  bring  men  back  to  the  normal  condition  of  their 
race.  No  purely  natural  causes  could  have  multiplied 
and  perpetuated  such  a  breed  in  such  a  climate  as  ours. 
On  the  contrary,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  the 
offspring  of  the  cross  between  the  small  number  of  pure 
Africans  formerly  slaves  in  the  Northern  States  and  the 
whites  would  have  dwindled,  and  by  this  time  nearly 
disappeared,  by  reason  of  the  effect  of  climate,  of  further 
crossing  between  half-breeds,  and  their  comparative  in- 
fecundity,  but  for  continual  accessions  from  the  South. 
There,  in  a  more  favorable  climate,  a  fruitfulness  greater 
than  follows  intercourse  between  mulattoes  was  and  is 
kept  up,  by  constant  crossing  with  the  white  race. 

From  this  central  source  in  the  South,  then,  comes  the 


20 


m 


'Mi 


'llill!"il 


flood  of  adulterated  blood,  which  spreads,  whitening  a 
little  as  it  flowSi  but  which  reaches  the  Nordi,  and 
helps  to  retain  there  the  taint  which  was  fast  vanishing. 

Statistics  carefully  kept  in  some  Northern  cities,  where 
mulattoes  intermarry  among  themselves,  and  where 
crossing  with  whites  is  not  common,  show  that  births 
among  colored  people  are  less  numerous  than  the 
deaths !  But  in  the  South,  the  affinities  of  race,  the 
partial  iafecundity  of  hybrids,  and  other  natural  causes 
which  tend  to  purify  the  national  blood,  are  counteracted 
by  social  causes,  among  which  is  the  market  value  of 
the  offspring;  in  other  words,  the  premiimi  set  upon 
hybrids. 

At  .the  beginning  of  this  century,  the  total  number 
of  colored  people  in  the  United  States  was  1,002,798,  of 
whom  109,194  were  free;  and  in  1860,  it  reached 
4,435,709,  of  whom  482,122  were  free. 

They  have  spread  over  most  of  the  coimtry,  the  density 
of  their  population,  and  the  darkness  of  their  com- 
plexions, diminishing  northward.  ffw  mm'' 

From  this  population  came  the  colored  people  of 
Canada,  who  are  mainly  of  two  classes,  slaves  who 
escaped  from  bondage  or  freed  men  who  fled  from  social 
oppression  in  the  Slave  States,  and  free  men  who  were 
driven  by  social  oppression,  and  iniquitous  legislation, 
from  the  Free  States.    *  >   .  „.  ....  i      ^4.  ^  ... 

Taken  as  a  whole,  they  resemble  in  physical  aspect 
the  colored  people  of  the  Middle  States  rather  than 
those  of  the  extreme  Southern,  or  the  extreme  North- 
em  States.  They  present  about  the  same  proportion 
of  blacks  and  mulattoes,  shading  off  to  white.     ,-»»'*,^  > 


M 


They  are  slightly  built,  narrow-chested,  light-limbed, 
and  do  not  abound  in  thews  and  sinews.  They  are 
mostly  of  lymphatic  temperament,  and  show  strong 
marks  of  scrofulous  or  strumous  disposition.  This  is 
(Uscemable  in  the  pulpy  appearance  of  certain  parts 
of  the  face  and  neck ;  in  the  spongy  gums,  and  glister- 
ing teeth. 

They  are  peculiarly  disposed  to  the  sort  of  diseases  to 
which  persons  of  this  temperament  are  most  liable ;  and 
the  climate  makes  the  development  of  such  diseases 
more  certain.  The  children  are  subject  to  mesenteric 
and  other  glandular  diseases.  The  young  are  liable 
to  softening  of  tubercles  ;  and  there  is  a  general  preva^ 
lence  of  phthisical  diseases. 

The  most  reliable  medical  opinions  are  that  these 
people  are  unfavorably  affected  by  the  climate. 

If,  indeed,  one  should  consider  only  the  opinion  and 
testimony  of  the  people  themselves,  he  would  conclude 
that  they  bear  the  climate,  very  well,  and  are  as  healthy 
and  as  prolific  as  the  whites.  But  the  opinion  of  the 
comiion  inhabitants  of  any  place  respecting  its  salubrity 
is  often  not  worth  much.  They  who  give  it,  find  them- 
selves iilive  and  well;  they  see  a  few  old  men  and 
women  about,  and  expect  to  grow  old  like  them ;  their 
neighbors  are  alive  and  well ;  the  sick  are  out  of  sight, 
and  the  dead  out  of  mind. 

>  If  we  seek  the  focus  of  any  plague  or  epidemic,  com- 
mon people  are  apt  to  tell  us  that  it  is  not  in  their 
precise  locaUty ;  it  is  "  over  yonder "  in  some  other 
place ;  or  if  there  be  a  few  victims  in  their  town, 
they  must  be  strangers  and  unacclimated  persons ;  or,  at 


22 


't::'  I 


ili-l' 


lllilll  I 


I  i  I 


lln,;j| 


Mi: 


Ihiii 


worst,  those  who  had  pecuhar  dispositions  to  that  par- 
ticular disease,  of  which  disposition  they  themselves  do 
not  partake. 

So  the  colored  people  of  Canada  say  the  climate  suits 
them ;  that  they  are  very  well ;  that  they  hear  as  many 
children  as  whites  do,  and  rear  them  as  weU.  But 
the  opinion  of  the   most  intelligent   white   persons   is 

«  Many  intelligent  physicians  who  have  practised  among 
both  classes,  say  that  the  colored  people  are  feebly  organ- 
ized ;  that  the  scrofulous  temperament  prevails  among 
them ;  that  the  climate  tends  to  development  of  tuber- 
culous diseases  ;  that  they  dre  unprolific  and  short-lived. 
From  an  abundance  of  such  testimony,  the  following, 
given  by  two  eminent  physicians,  one  in  the  West,  the 
other  in  the  eaatern  part  of  Upper  Canada,  is  selected 
as  among  the  most  rehable.  Dr.  Fisher,  physician  at 
the  Provincial  Lunatic  Asylum,  says: —   ,  ,  ^  . 

*'  I  think  the  colored  people  stand  the  climate  very  badly. 
In  a  very  short  time  lung  disease  is  developed,  and  they  go  by 
phthisis.  The  majority  do  not  pass  forty  years.  Of  cpurse, 
there  are  exceptions.  Tliey  die  off  fast.  T  suppose  I  have  had 
thirty  colored  people  here  with  little  children,  with  scrofu- 
lous disease,  extending  as  far  as  ulceration  of  the  temporal 
bone.  Then  they  are  a  good  deal  subject  to  rheumatism. 
They  bear  a  great  many  children,  but  raise  only  about  one-half 
of  them,  I  think.  The  children  are  generally  weakly  and 
puny  ;  not  so  strong  as  our  white  children.  A  great  many  of 
them  die  in  childhood.  The  principal  disease  is  tubercular 
deposition  of  the  stomach  and  intestines." 

Dr.  T.  Mack,  of  St.  Catherines,  says: —  "  > 

*'  It  strikes  me  that  the  mixed  races  are  the  most  unhealthy, 
and  the  pure  blacks  the  least  so.    The  disease  they  suffer 


23 


most  from  is  pulmonary  —  more  than  general  tubercular; 
and  where  there  is  not  real  tubercular  affection  of  the  lungs, 
there  are  bronchitis  and.  pulmonary  affections.  I  have  the  idea 
that  they  die  out  when  mixed,  and  that  this  clim-ite  will  com-  • 
pletely  efface  them.  I  think  the  pure  blacks  will  live.  I  have 
come  to  this  conclusion,  not  from  any  statistics,  but  from  per- 
sonal observation.  I  know  A,  B,  and  0,  who  are  mulattooii, 
and  they  are  unhealthy ;  and  I  know  pure  blacks,  who  do  not 
suffer  from  disease,  and  recover  from  the  smallpox,  and  ski  a 
diseases,  and,  yellow  fever,  which  are  very  fatal  to  mulattoes. 
I  think  there  is  a  great  deal  of  strumous  diathesis  developed  in 
the  mixed  race,  produced  by  change  of  climate." 


The  vital  statistics  of  the  colored  people  in  Canada 
have  not  been  kept  with  sufficient  accuracy  by  the 
official  authorities  to  warrant  any  conclusions  ;  but  they 
have  beer  kept  in  some  parts  of  the  Northern  States 
where  the  climatic  influences  are  at  least  as  unfavorable 
as  those  of  Canada. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  following  extract  from  the 
report  of  the  Registrar  of  the  City  of  Boston : — 


"  The  following  table  will  present,  in  an  interesting  form,  the 
number  of  births,  marriages  and  deaths  among  the  colored 
population  in  each  of  the  last  eight  years :  a,-  ,  , ..  fVi^ 


ix'   m'TV'i' 


•  oitit/i?  .,>:M'oy.i'.;',i'nit 


TEAB. 


BIrtba. 


Marriages. 


Deaths. 


1855,  . 

1856,  . 

1857,  . 

1858,  . 

1859,  . 

1860,  . 

1861,  . 

1862,  . 

Totals, 


29 
50 
34 
21 
46 
29 
47 
45 


304 


35 
46 
34 
32 
37 
53 
41 
38 


316 


63 
71 
73 
60 
58 
68 
60 
47 


500 


m 

n 

mi 


V 


|l|l|r.i.l 


24 


**  It  will  be  noticed,  that  in  each  of  the  years  named,  the 
colored  deaths  exceeded  the  births ;  and  that  in  1855, 1858  and 
1860,  the  latter  were  even  less  than  the  marriages !  During 
the  whole  period,  the  deaths  exceeded  the  births  by  nearly  two 
hundred,  and  the  marriages  by  twelve.  Estimating  the  white 
population  at  180,000,  the  proportion  of  births  to  the  whole 
number  is  as  one  to  84.^0  ;' while  the  ratio  of  colored  births  is 
as  one  to  49,  in  a  population  of  2,200.  It  is  not  the  less  inter- 
esting to  observe,  that  while  this  difference  in  the  natural 
growth  of  the  two  races  is  so  strikingly  in  favor  of  the  white, 
the  marriages  among  the  colored  race  were  in  the  ratio  of  one 
to  58  of  the  population,  while  among  the  former  they  were 
only  as  on,e  to  87.54  ! 

'*  Thus  it  is  shown,  that  in  each  of  the  aspects  in  which  this 
subject  may  be  viewed,  the  colored  race  seems,  so  far  as  this 
city  is  concerned,  to  be  doomed  to  extinction." 

J.  R.  Bartlett,  Secretary  of  State  for  Rhode  Island, 
commenting  on  the  State  Registration  Reports,  says : — 


"These  Reports  illustrate  the  peculiarities  of  the  colored 
race,  as  it  exists  in  this  State.  Rhode  Island  has  had  a  higher 
proportion  of  colored  persons  than  any  other  New  England 
State.  This  proportion  is  lessening  from  year  to  year,  in  spite 
of  a  slight  and  concealed  current  of  immigration  from  Southern 
States.  The  mortality  of  the  colored  is  about  twice  as  great,  in 
proportion,  as  that  among  the  white.  In  a  period  of  nearly  five* 
years,  the  deaths  of  colored  persons  have  been  fifty-seven 
more  than  the  births  of  colored  children."* 

The  Seventh  Registration  Report  says :  "  The  colored 
race  would  at  no  distant  day  become  extinct  in  Rhode 
Island,  if  it  were  not  maintained  by  immigration."f 

Col.  (now  General)  Tullock,  and  Staff  Surgeon  Balfour, 

*  5th  Registration  Report,  State  of  Rhode  Island,  pp.  47,  48. 
1 7tb  Report,  p.  64.^ 


m 


of  the  British  Army,  published  four  volumes  of  military 
statistics,  between  1848  and  1851,  which  are  admitted  to 
be  very  valuable. 

The  first,  iu  a  MS.  letter  dated  November  25,  1863, 
says : — 

"It  was  shown  by  reference  to  the  mortality  among  the  slave 
population  in  Jamaica  and  the  West  Indies,  for  a  series  of  years, 
that  when  not  recruited  by  fresh  importations,  that  race  would 
probably  become  extinct  in  little  more  than  a  century ;  an 
anticipation  which  is  now,  I  believe,  iu  the  course  of  being 
realized,  except  on  the  Island  of  Barbadoes. 

"  The  annual  mortality  of  the  negroes  averaged,  at  that  time, 
about  three  per  cent,  among  the  male  population  of  all  ages  in 
these  colonies ;  it  was  still  higher  in  the  Mauritius,  as  also  in  the 
French  settlements  of  Bourbon,  Martinique,  Guyana,  and  Sene- 
gal. You  are  aware  that  with  so  high  a  mortality  among 
persons  of  all  ages,  it  was  impossible  for  any  race  materially  to 
increase,  or  even  to  keep  up  its  numbers,  especially  as  a  further 
extension  of  the  inquiry  showed  that  this  loss  fell  chiefly  on 
the  adult  population ;  children  under  ten  years  of  age  being 
iisually  as  healthy  as  those  of  English  parentage  in  this  country. 
In  illustration  of  the  loss  among  these  adults,  even  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances,  I  pointed  out  that  in  the  West 
India  Regiments  and  Black  Pioneers^  men  between  the  ages  of 
twenty  and  forty-five,  the  loss  was  usually  four  per  cent,  in  the 
Wast  Indies,  three  per  cent,  in  Jamaica,  and  that  even  on  the 
west  coast  o"  Africa,  the  latter  rate  prevailed,  while  in  the 
Mauritius,  among  a  similar  class,  it  rose  to  nearly  four  per  cent., 
and  still  higher  in  Ceylon  and  Gibralter,  where  negro  troops  were 
for  a  short  time  employed. 

"  This  high  mortality  among  the  negro  race  was  found  chiefly 
to  arise  from  their  e^reme  susceptibility  to  diseases  of  the  lungs ; 
indeed,  it  will  be  seen,  by  the  returns  of  total  diseases  annexed 
to  the  volumes  jusri'y^(^ed  to,  that  as  many  died  from  them 
alone,  as  from  aiiibtbitr  diseiases ;  so  far  as  my  experience  goes, 
no  race  has  ever  ^^wn^^^9,^^pt^bility  for  a  variety  of  climates. 
In  the  Southern  States  of  America  alone  does  there  appear  a 
fair  prospect  of  theii*  bduig  able  to  increase  and  keep  up  their 


H 


w 


llll«ii: 


IWlLi 


numbers,  probably  in  consequence  of  the  climate  being  favorable 
to  those  diseases  by  which  they  are  elsewhere  most  affected. 

"  With  regard  to  the  mulatto  race,  I  have  few  facts  to  offer, 
because,  as  a  general  rule,  they  are  seldom  employed  in  our 
army  ;  chiefly  owing  to  the  want  of  that  physical  stamina  which 
renders  the  pure  negro  better  fitted  for  the  duties  of  a  soldier 
or  a  laborer.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  our  colonies  possess  no 
separate  records  of  the  mortality  to  which  mulattoes  are  sub- 
ject, but  in  some  of  the  French  Colonies  before  referred  to, 
where  the  distinction  has  been  kept  up,  the  death  rate  appears 
to  be  a  medium  between  that  of  the  negro  and  the  naturalized 
white  settler.  If  a  fair  comparison  could  be  drawn  from  the 
rate  among  the  Eurasian  or  half  castes  in  India,  it  would  be 
decidedly  unfavorable  to  the  longevity  of  the  mixed  race,  as  it 
is  very  rarely  that  any  are  found  to  arrive  at  a  third  generation." 

.-.■■■■■  "  ,     ■    •■  '         ■    •  '  \-.t- 

Dr.  Andrew  Fisher,  of  Maiden,  Canada,  says : — 

"  I  should  say  that  mulattoes  don't  have  children  enough  to 
keep  up  the  breed  itrithout  assistance  from  emigration,  from  the 
fact  that  more  of  the  diseases  I  have  been  mentioning,  [phthy- 
sis,  scrofula  and  rheumatism,]  are  developed  among  mulattoes 
than  among  pure  blacks.'*        -    -  ,-  ^  ^  ^s 

Such  statistics  and  such  opinions  confirm  the  conclu- 
sion, drawn  from  other  sources,  that  without  the  contin- 
uance of  mulatto  breeding  in  the  South,  and  fresh 
accessions  of  population  from  that  quarter,  mulattoes 
would  soon  diminish  in  Canada;  and,  moreover,  that 
mulattoism  would  fade  out  from  the  blood  of  the 
Northern  States.      -   ;  -^     .^       ;     , 

Upon  the  whole,  then,  the  colored  population  of 
Canada,  considered  solely  in  a  physical  light,  is  a  poor 
one.  They  are  of  a  breed  which  is  neither  vigorous  nor 
prolific;  and  though  in  its  present  phase  it  seems  to 
evolve  considerable  vivacity  of  temperament  and  activity 


37 


of  intellect,  its  tendency  is  rather  to  deteriorate  than 
improve. 

The  offspring  of  the  cross  show  less  ferocity  than  their 
progenitors,  certainly  than  their  white  ones  ;  hut  this  is 
perhaps  from  dimimshed  intensity  and  virility  of  their 
whole  nature.  The  animal  organism  is  less  in^tense  in  its 
action.  The  mulatto,  considered  in  his  animal  nature, 
lacks  the  innervation  and  spring  of  the  pure  blacks  and 
whites;  or,  is  less  "high  strung."  The  organic  infe- 
riority is  shown  in  less  power  of  resisting  destructive 
agencies  ;  in  less  fecundity,  ancHess  longevity. 

Now,  that  this  is  not  solely  the  result  of  unfavorable 
climatic  influences  in  Canada  and  New  England,  is  shown 
by  the  vital  statistics  of  Liberia.  There  is  the  native 
country  of  the  negro.  There,  if  any  where,  he  should 
flourish.  That  Colony  is  made  up  of  precisely  the  same 
class  of  emiji^rant-freed  negroes,  mostly  from  the  border 
States,  and  mostly  mulattoes.  The  first  emigrants  were 
sent  there  forty  years  ago;  and  up  to  January,  1858, 
eleven  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  had  been 
landed.  A  very  few  have  returned;  and  yot,  with  all  the 
fostering  care  of  the  Societies,  and  with  all  the  aid  and 
appliances  that  kindness  and  money  could  afford,  "  the 
colonists,  with  all  their  natural  increase,  numbered  only 
7,621  in  1858!"*  A  loss  by  excess  of  deaths  over 
births  of  33  per  cent !  The  Haytian  emigration  has  been 
equally  disastrous. 

The  unfavorable  peculiarities  of  the  cross  breed  are 


I 


it. 


*  "  Liberia  As  I  Saw  It,"  by  Rev.  A.  M.  Cowan,  Agent  Kentucky  Colo- 
nization Society,  p.  166.  ' " 


\.-- 


I « "I 


u 


i!;i'v 


28  . 

perhaps  increased  in  the  Canadian  emigrants  by  inter- 
marriage within  too  small  a  circle. 

If  slavery  is  utterly  abolished  in  the  United  States,  no 
more  colored  people  will  emigrate  to  Canada ;  and  most 
of  those  now  there  will  soon  leave  it.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  about  this.  Among  hundreds  who  spoke  about 
it,,  only  one  dissented  from  the  strong  expression  of  desire 
to  "  go  home."  In  their  belief,  too,  they  agreed  with 
Rev.  Mr.  Kinnard,  one  of  their  clergy,  who  said  to  us, 
"  if  freedom  is  establislj^d  in  the  United  States,  there 
will  be  one  great  black  streak,  reaching  from  here  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  South." 

Or,  if  slavery  is  only  so  maimed  and  crippled  that  it 
can  no  longer  affect  the  freedom  of  the  dwellers  in  the 
Northern  States,  there  will  be  no  further  emigration  to 
Canada.  Refugees  from  slavery  will  not  cross  the  lakes, 
but  remain  in  the  Free  States.  Those  now  in  Canada  will 
disappear  by  a  slower  process ;  for,  as  Was  just  said, 
when  the  fecundity  of  mulattoes  is  not  increased  by 
occasional  return  to  one  of  the  original  types,  it  rapidly 
lessens,  at  least  on  this  continent  above  the  thirty-fifth 
parallel  of  north  latitude.  •  - 

But,  if  slavery  is  neither  abolished  in  the  South,  nor 
prevented  from  encroaching  upon  personal  freedom  and 
security  in  the  North,  then  the  colored  population  of 
Canada,  like  thut  of  the  Northern  and  Western  States, 
will  go  on  increasing,  as  it  has  done,  not  by  its  own  inhe- 
rent fertility,  but  by  immigration  from  the  border  and 
Southern  States,  where  intercourse  between  the  purer 
types  of  each  race  is  frequent,  and  where  increase  is 
encouraged  by  the  marketable  value  of  the  offspring. 


ti  I ' , . 


39 


V. 


In  connection  with  the  physical  condition  of  the  exiles, 
it  may  be  as  well  to  consider  here  the  subject  of 


:'^. 


;v  i 


u>   iVUi^ltM^'a   '» 


Amalgamation  of  Races. 


I  rt/l 


r'l    »*i     tl 


It  is  feared  by  some  that  emancipation,  by  breaking 
down  certain  barriers  betwepn  the  white  and  black  races, 
may  greatly  increase  their  amalgamation.  The  Canadian 
experiment  may  throw  some  light  upon  this  matter. 

During  many  years,  the  refugees  were  mostly  men ; 
and  to  this  day,  the  males  are  most  numerous,  because 
women  cannot  so  easily  escape.  Now,  the  consequence 
of  any  departure  from  the  natural  numerical  proportion 
between  the  sexes  must  of  course  be  bad;  and  the 
wider  the  departure,  the  greater  the  evil  becomes,  until 
it  culminates  in  the  morbid  tastes  and  monstrous  abomi- 
nations engendered  in  communities  made  up  of  one  sex 
only.  Natural  tastes  and  dispositions,  imduly  thwarted, 
are  perverted  into  morbid  and  monstrous  passions.  If 
uncultured  black  men  cannot  find  black  mates,  they  will 
find  white  ones,  and  the  contrary. 

It  appears  that  formerly,  that  is,  in  the  early  period 
of  the  emigration,  marriages,  or  open  cohabitation,  be- 
tween black  men  and  white  women,  were  not  uncommon. 
The  marriages  were  mostly  with  Irish,  or  other  foreign 
women  The  instances  of  white  men  openly  cohabiting 
with  black  women  were  very  rare ;  and  marriages  of 
this  kind  were  too  uncommon  to  need  notice. 

Dr.  Litchfield,  medical  superintendent "  of  criminal 
lunatics,  says: —       • 


"  It  is  not  uncommon  here  for  a  colored  tradesman  to  marry 
a  white  woman.     Tlie    stipendiary  magistrate   of  Kingston 


*• 


:ltui 


[  1 


iil'Hii! 


enumerated  some  ten  or  twelve  colored  men  in  this  locality  who 
had  married  white  women.  These  women  were  generally  Irish 
women,  from  the  class  of  domestics." 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  Kingstun  is  far  removed  from 
the  region  most  populated  by  colored  people  ;  and  that 
probably  the  first  colored  emigrants  were  chiefly  men. 

Within  twenty  or  thirty  years,  many  men  have  con- 
trived .to  redeem  by  money,  or  by  pluck  and  enterprise, 
their  former  wives  or  sweethearts.  Slave  women,  too, 
heard  about  Canada,  and  learned  the  way.  Other  colored 
women  came  in  from  the  Northern  and  Western  States, 
so  that  the  numerical  disparity  betrreen  the  sexes  soon 
began  to  lessen,  and  continues  to  do  so.  This  of  course 
tended  to  check  amalgamation  with  whites. 

Meanwhile,  another  corrective,  and  that  the  most  im- 
portant of  all,  began  to  be  felt.  As  soon  as  the  dis- 
turbing forces  of  slavery  and  social  oppression  ceased 
to  act,  the  negroes,  true  to  human  instincts,  began  to 
be  drr  -n  together  by  more  natural  affinities  than  existed 
between  them  and  another  race.  They  grouped  them- 
selves into  families,  and  sanctified  them  by  marriage. 

Bishop  Green,  a  colored  man  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  says: —  * 

"  There  is  not  much  intermarriage  between  the  colors.  But 
our  people  have  too  much  good  sense  to  think  a  white  woman  is 
degraded  because  she  marries  a  black  man.  A  respectable  col- 
ored man  and  a  respectable  white  woman  are  looked  upon  'as  a 
respectable  family.  The  people  don't  say  any  thing  agsiast 
such  marriages.  If  the  man  is  an  upright  man,  and  the  woman 
an  upright  woman,  they  treat  them  as  if  they  were  both  colored  ; 

they  have  sociability  among  them.    Here  is  Mrs.  — •,  the 

wife  of  a  colored  grocery-keeper,  who  is  held  in  as  much 


It 


respect  among  the  first  colored  women  as  any  black  woman  In 

town.    Here  is  Mrs. .    Her  husband  is  a  house-plasterer, 

and  she  is  as  much  respected  as  any  white  woman.  I  don't 
know  that  tliore  are  more  such  cases  now  than  formerly.  7%e 
most  of  them  marry  in  the  Slatet,  and  move  here.  The 
immediate  community  here  have  their  associations  with  their 
own  people,  and  you  do  not  see  any  of  our  retpectable  people 
here  marryinff  any  persons  but  their  own  associates.  The 
young  men  of  our  community  are  of  opinion  that  they  can  find 
as  good  wives  among  their  own  class  as  can  be  found  any  where, 
and  you  can't  find  any  of  them  offering  to  marry  a  white 
woman.  They  have  their  own  associates,  I  assure  you,  and 
they  cannot  be  influenced  to  do  otherwise.  These  intermar- 
riages are  exceptional  cases.  Most  all  of  them  are  from  the 
States."     ,....>. 


:rv. 


i:>  ■:  *J.T7.  -M 


Other  colored   men   take   a,  less  liberal  view  of  the 


''4 

■ma 


matter  than  does  the  kind-nearted  Bishop.     Says  John 
Kinney,  a  very  intelligent  man,— 


But 
man  is 
e  col- 
I'as  a 
gsiiast 
proman 
ored ; 
,  the 
much 


"  The  majority  of  the  colored  people  don't  like  the  intermar- 
riage of  colored  and  white  people.  I  want  to  have  a  woman  I 
am  not  ashamed  to  go  into  the  street  or  into  company  with,  and 
that  people  won't  make  remarks  about.  It  don't  amount  to 
any  thing,  I  know,  but  it  hurts  a  man's  feelings." 

Col.  Stephenson,  who  has  had  much  acquaintance  with 
colored  people,  and  who  employs  many  of  them,  says : — 

"  They  do  n't  marry  much  with  whites  ;  it  is  looked  upon 
with  such  dreadful  contempt  by  all  classes— even  by  the  negroee 
themselves.  The  respectable  colored  people  do  n't  like'  to 
have  one  of  their  color  marry  a  white  woman." 

Mayor  Cross,  of  Chatham,  says : —       ,  -,  »  <  , 

"  They  do  not  intermarry  much  with  the  whites,  and  it  is 
only  the  most  abandoned  whites  who  marry  them.  It  is  a 
very  good  trait  in  the  character  of  the  people,  that  they  do  not 


regard  it  as  any  honor  to  marry  a  white  person.  A  very  laugh- 
able incident  occurred  here  the  otlier  day.  A  colored  man  ran 
away  witli  a  white  girl,  and  another  colored  man,  speaking  of 
the  affair,  said  :  *  I  always  looked  upon  him  as  a  respectable 
man.  I  did  n't  think  he  would  fall  so  low  as  to  marry  a  white 
girl.':' 

Dr.  Fisher,  in  whose  neighborhood  is  a  very  large 
colored  population,  says: — , 


'lit 


■i%:))^^' 


"Those  who  are  here  generally  marry  among  themselves, 
and  keep  aloof.  I  have  been  here  four  years,  and  I  have  never 
heard  of  a  white  person  getting  married  to  a  colored  one." 


Mr.  Sinclair,  teacher  of  the  public  school  of  Chatham, 
says:—  "  -  \^  '-n 

♦■ 
"  So  it  is  with  a  white  woman  who  marries  a  negro.     The 

whites  will  have  nothing  to  say  to  her,  and  her  society  is  entirely 

with  the  blacks.    Such  marriages  occur  once  in  a  while,  but 

not  so  frequently  as  they  did  a  number  of  years  ago.    There 

was  considerable  stir  and  fuss  made  about  it,  and  the  greater 

part  of  the  colored  people,  and  their  leading  men,  are  opposed 

to  it  themselves."  >  .'•.::  - 

Thus  the  desire  to  imitate  the  higher  ci/Jization 
around  them,  seconded  by  the  influence  of  the  church, 
has  brought  the  colored  people  rapidly  up,  and  out  of 
their  loose  and  incontinent  habits.  The  refugees,^  when 
living  among  those  of  their  own  color,  and  able  to  earn 
a  livelihood,  follow  the  attraction  of  natural  affinities, 
eschew  marriage  with  whites,  and  build  up  families 
among  themselves.  White  men  will  not  marry  Mack 
women ;  and  notwithstanding  the  fearful  social  pressure 
which  often  forces  white  women  to  venture  upon  any 
forlorn  hope  in  marriage,  few  venture  upon  the  most 


33 


♦  t 


large 


tiifi 


forlorn  hope  of  all,  in  the  present  Htate  of  society — union 
with  u  bluck  man. 

Upon  the  whole,  then,  the  experience  of  the  Canadian 
refugees  goes  to  show  that  there  need  be  no  anxiety 
upon  the  score  of  amalgamation  of  races  in  the  United 
States.  With  freedom,  and  protection  of  their  legal 
rights ;  with  an  open  field  for  industry,  and  opportuni- 
ties for  mental  and  moral  culture,  colored  people  will 
not  seek  relationship  with  whites,  but  will  follow 
their  natural  affinities,  and  marry  among  themselves. 
With  the  additional  advantage  which  they  will,  or  surely 
ought  to  have,  of  choosing  the  soil  and  climate  most 
congenial  to  then*  nature,  they  will  give  no  trouble  upon 
this  score,  at  least  in  the  Northern,  Western  or  Middle 
States.  Drawn  by  natural  attractions  to  warmer  regions, 
they  will  co-operate  powerfully  with  the  whites  from  the 
North  in  re-organizing  the  industry  of  the  Soath ;  but 
they  will  dwindle  and  gradually  disappear  from  the 
peoples  of  this  continent,  outstripped  by  more  vigorous 
competitors  in  the  struggle  for  life.  But,  surely,  history 
will  record  their  blameless  life  as  a  people ;  their  patient 
endurance  of  suffering  and  of  wrong  ;  and  their  sublime 
return  of  good  for  evil  to  the  race  of  their  oppressors. 


^" 


Section  3. — Material  Condition — Property/,  Taxes,  8fc. 

Has  the  negro  the  ability  and  the  will,  to  work  and 
support  himself,  in  a  state  of  freedom  ^ 

Many  anxious  souls  are  now  pondering  this  question, 
just  as  if  it  had  not  been  solved,  over  and  over  again. 

In  the  South,  especially  in  the  Border  States,  thousands 
of   slaveholders  show  their  faith  by  their  actions;   for 

6 


L'l 


34 


fer-.« 


'■  4|il 


f:     '    .1 


they  leave  the  negro  to  lead  and  direct  the  field  hands,  to 
manage  their  small  farms,  and  to  run  their  mills ;  they 
send  him  to  neighboring  markets  to  sell  garden  stuff,  and 
to  more  distant  markets  with  droves  of  hogs  and  cattle ; 
and  they  even  confide  to  him  small  craft,  with  their 
cargoes,  on  rivers  and  lakes.  But  especially  does  that 
large  class  believe,  who  hire  him  out  to  himself,  by  the 
month  or  year,  and  ask  not  and  care  not  what  he  does, 
so  that  he  pays  them  punctually  for  the  use  of  his  own 
brain  and  muscles. 

Again,  theie  are  about  a  half  million*  free  colored 
people  in  the  United  States,  who  not  only  support  them- 
selves, with  less  aid  from  public  charity  than  our  foreign 
population  receive,  but  contribute  to  the  material  pros- 
perity of  the  country.  Of  these,  there  are  225,955  in'  the 
Slave  States,  and  262,015  in  the  Free  States.  The  former, 
notwithstanding  they  are  unenfranchised,  and  labor  under 
various  political  and  legal  disabilities,  support  themselves 
and  contribute  to  the  general  weal. 

In  Maryland,  for  instance,  according  to  the  Preliminary 
Beport  of  the  U.  S.  Census,  1860,  "This  class,  constitut- 
ing as  it  does,  12  1-4  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population, 
forms  an  important  element  in  the  free  labor  of  the  State,  "f 

In  Kentucky,  they  support  themselves,  build  churches, 
live  in  neat  and  comfortable  houses,  pay  taxes,  and  are 
respectable  and  useful  inhabitants. 

In  Louisiana,  and  in  other  States,  many  of  them  are 
wealthy.     Those  in  the  Free  States,  in  spite  of  blind  and 

*48'i, 970— Abstract  U.  S.  Census,  1860,  p.  3. 
t  Aljstract  U.  S.  Census,  1860,  p.  6.  , 


35 


\\ 


are 
and 


bitter  prejudice,  are  thriving ;  as  the  abundant  testimony 
gathered  by  your  Commission,  will  prove. 

Still,  many  people  are  made  to  believe  that  the 'negro 
is  too  lazy  to  work,  except  under  compulsion.  To  such, 
the  Canadian  experiment  may  furnish  another  line  and 
precept. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  refugees 
find  no  other  advantage  in  Canada  except  freedom  and 
protection  by  the  laws.  In  all  other  respects,  they  labor 
under  very  great  disadvantages.     Chiefest  is  that  of 

Climate. 
This  is  even  a  greater  obstacle  than  appears  at  first,  for 
it  is  a  feeble  breed,  and  not  a  vigorous  race,  which  has  to 
resist  its  rigors.  Forced  to  flee  their  own  country,  they 
were  thwarted  at  the  very  outset,  in  a  very  important  mat- 
ter ;  because  considerations  about  warmth  are  always  lead- 
ing ones  in  the  choice  of  new  dwelling-places.  Men  in- 
stinctively seek  the  temperature  best  suited  to  their  organi- 
zation. Long  residence  even,  in  a  country  the  tempera- 
ture of  which  is  not  congenial  to  a  race,  does  not  change 
their  disposition ;  and  if  they  make  a  voluntary  emigra- 
tion, its  track  will  be  along  the  isothermal  line  native  to 
their  fathers.  As  a  geologist  who  finds  a  fragment  of 
an  eaily  stratum  above  a  later  one,  infers  that  it  must 
have  been  rent  from  its  connection  by  some  convulsion, 
so  the  sociologist  who  finds  people  of  African  descent^ 
living  in  an  arctic  region,  infers  that  it  must  have  been 
driven,  not  drawn,  thither.  If  free  to  choose  their  own 
dwelling-places,  the  negroes  would  be  surely  drawn  by 
thermal  laws,  from  the  Northern  and  Western  States,  and 


36 


i.-'   ■■■( 


WmH ' 


towards  the  tropics.  But  slavery  reverses  even  physical 
laws,  and  drives  men  who  would  fain  live  where  the 
lizard  -can  bask  all  the  year  round,  to  a  region  in  which 
the  fox  and  deer  can  hardly  resist  the  bitter  cold. 

It  is  true  that  the  refugees  are  not  generally  conscious 
of  the  great  disadvantage  of  the  climate.  Indeed,  to  hear 
them  talk,  one  would  suppose  they  were  "  to  the  arctic 
born."  They  have  a  bravado  way  about  it,  and  say,  "  We 
can  stand  the  climate  just  as  well  as  white  men," — 
unconscious  of  the  import  of  the  words  "  stand  a  climate ! " 
that  is,  contend  with  it  as  with  an  enemy ;  fight  against 
it;  keep  up  a  life-long  struggle  with  it,  and  expend 
their  energy  in  retaining  the  warmth  of  which  it  is  con- 
tinually robbing  them. 

Now  and  then  one,  of  happy  organization,  like  the 
jovial  watchmaker.  Sparks,  at  Chatham,  seems  to  thrive 
on  cold.  "  I  like  it,  first  rate,"  said  he ;  "I  weighed  only 
179  pounds  when  I  came  here,  and  now  I  weigh  241." 
And  his  shadow  is  not  becoming  less. 

All  the  facts,  however,  are  against  the  theory  of  their 
becoming  acclimated ;  and  some  of  the  most  thoughtful 
ones  among  them  are  aware  of  it.  The  following  are 
selected  from  the  testimony ;  and  they  are  the  words  of 
men  whose  natural  ability  and  acquired  knowledge  would 
make  them  remarkable  in  the  industrial  ranks  of  any 
community. 

Alfred  Butler,  of  Toronto,  says : — 


'■1-   i, 


Rl'Sili'i 


"  Our  people  find  the  climate  here  pretty  tough  for  the  first 
winters,  but  we  get  used  to  it  after  a  while.  Of  course,  it  does 
not  agree  with  us  so  well  as  a  warmer  climate  would.  I  don't 
think  it  quite  so  easy  to  raise  children  here  as  down  Scut . ,    I 


01 


)uld 
I  any 


irst 
loes 
)n't 


think  the  climate  preys  more  upon  the  constitution  than  the 
Southern  climate  does.  I  have  become  pretty  well  acclimated 
here,  and  I  can  endure  as  much  oold  as  most  people  raised 
here ;  and  yet  I  think  the  weather  preys  upon  a  person's 
constitution  more,  and  a  man  gives  way." 

F.  G.  Simpson,  of  the  same  place,  says : — 

"  I  think,  as  a  whole,  the  climate  is  rather  too  hard  for  the 
generality  of  the  colored  people — more  especially  those  from 
the  far  South — though  they  stand  it  pretty  well.  But  I  notice 
that  many  of  them  die  of  decline  or  consumption  here."  *  * 
"  This  climate  is  very  changeable.  I  have  seen  it  change 
twenty  degrees  in  a  few  hours.  Those  not  prepai'ed  with 
clothing  suffer  from  these  sudden  changes.  I  doubt  if  our 
people  are  so  fertile  here  as  at  the  South.  I  think  a  warm 
country,  for  any  race  of  people,  tends  to  make  them  more 
prolific  than  a  cold  climate.  I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  don't 
think  the  colored  people  are  so  prolific  here  as  they  are  in  the 
States.  Judging  from  appearances,  there  are  not  so  many 
children  here." 

Says  Dr.  A.  T.  Jones,  of  London : — 

"  I  do  not  believe  the  climate  is  altogether  congenial  with 
the  health  of  the  colored  people.  I  do  not  think  tlie  colored 
community  would  flourish  as  much  here  as  down  in  Kentucky 
or  Maryland." 

But  a  still  greater  disadvantage  is  that  of 

The  Prejudice  of  the  Whites  against  Negroes. 
Peoples  have  their  way  of  gossiping,  just  as  indi- 
viduals have;  and  a  favorite  one  is  that  of  criticising 
their  neighbors,  and  talking  national  scandal.  The 
American  people  are  charged  with  prejudice  against  the 
negroes ;  and  our  English  cousins  especially  denounce  it 
as  a  proof  of  our  innate  depravity ;  while  the  more 
philosophic  French  smile  at  it  as  merely  a  proof  of  our 
being  "  behinded ; "  that  is.  less  liberal  than  the  "  grand 
nation." 


If 


l!l  11 


'ti>\ 


^-    ill: 


i'  ■  li 


The  affinity  between  all  members  of  the  human 
family  which  fits  them  for  sympathy  and  affection  is  of 
course  greater  between  proximate  races  than  between 
remote  ones.  If  a  lone  Caucasian  in  a  desert  should 
meet  a  Carib,  (who  did  not  happen  to  be  hungry  or 
angry,)  they  would  probably  be  drawn  together  as  brother 
men.  If  an  African  should  come  along,  the  Caucasian 
would  prefer  him  by  reason  of  closer  affinity  of  race, 
and  the  Carib  might  complain  of  this  as  prejudice. 
A  Mongol  might  wean  the  Caucasian  from  the  African ; 
but  one  of  his  own  race  would  have  still  better  chance  for 
his  sympathy.  Even  among  the  varieties  o^  race,  there 
are  different  degrees  of  natural  affinity ;  and  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  is  drawn  to  a  Teuton  more  readily  than  to  a  Celt. 
Now,  this  law  of  affinity  is  strong  enough  in  a  stale  of 
freedom  to  preserve  the  hdrmony  of  uature,  and  keep  all 
men  in  their  places :  and  if  we  add  culture,  all  women 
too.  The  essentials,  however,  are  freedom  and  culture ; 
for  without  these  the  natural  affinities  will  not  prevent 
men  warring  upon  each  other,  at  small  provocations; 
though  never  as  they  war  upon  wolves  and  other  brutes. 
But  because  a  man's  sympathies  with  those  of  his  own 
race  are  so  strong  that  he  cannot  think  of  marrying  into 
another  race,  and  cannot  think  with  pleasure  of  his 
child  doing  so,  must  this  be  charged  as  guilty  preju- 
dice] Does  preference  imply  prejudice,  any  more  than 
love  implies  hate  ?  However,  let  the  rationale  of  preju- 
dice against  the  negroes  be  what  it  may,  it  surely  does 
not  become  the  English  to  reproach  the  Americans,  as  a 
people,  with  the  sin  of  it ;  for  they  themselves  have  quite 
as  much  of  it ;  and  their  people  show  it  whenever  the 


m 


reju- 
than 
reju- 
Idoes 

las  a 
luite 
the 


negroes  come  among  them  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
compete  for  the  means  of  living,  and  for  civil  rights. 
Whenever  circumstances  call  it  forth  among  the  coarse 
and  brutal,  they  manifest  it  just  as  brutally  as  Ameri- 
cans do.  They  have  done  so  in  Canada;  and  would 
doubtless  do  so  in  England. 

If  the  French  people  are,  as  they  boast  to  be,  above  this 
prejudice,  (which  is  improbable,)  it  must  be  because  they 
have  greater  moral  culture,  (which  is  more  improbable;) 
or  else  that  the  Celtic  element  in  their  blood  has  closer 
affinity  with  the  African  than  ours  has. 

The  English  Canadians  try  to  persuade  themselves 
that  when  this  malady  of  prejudice  does  occasionally 
appear  among  thera,  they  do  not  have  it  in  the  natural 
way,  but  catch  it  from  the  Americans;  and  that  it  breaks 
out  in  its  worst  form  in  towns  where  Americans  most 
abound. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Proudfoot,  of  London,  is  a  friend  of  the 

colored  people,  and  has  shown  his  friendship  by  manly 

opposition  to  the  popular  cry  for  expelling  their  children 

from  the  public  schools  and  putting  them  in  separate 

'schools.     He  said  to  us: — 

"The  prejudice  against  colored  people  is  growing  here. 
But  it  is  not  a  British  feeling ;  it  does  not  spring  from  our  peo- 
ple, but  from  pour  people  coming  over  here.  There  are  many 
Americans  here,  and  great  deference  is  paid  to  their  feelings. 
*  *  *  We  have  a  great  deal  of  Northern  feeling  here.  The 
sympathy  for  the  North  is  much  greater  than  you  would 
imagine.    In  fact,  I  have  been  very  much  vexed  at  it." 

This  opinion  is  hugged  by  very  intelligent  English 
people ;  and  even  such  an  enlightened  man  as  Dr.  Ryer- 
son,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  holds  on  to  it. 
Said  he  to  us : — 


i: : . 


i'       :f 


40 

"  Tho  American  feeling  still  exists  in  this  country  in  regard 
to  people  of  color,  especially  among  the  country  people.  I  do 
not  consider  it  a  natural  feeling,  becauise  it  is  not  an  English 
feeling."  r- 

The  colored  people,  however,  say,  that  this  theory  of 
contagion  is  not  sustained  by  faces ;  and  the  bulk  of  the 
evidence  shows  that  they  are  right. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  that,  as  long  as 
the  colored  people  form  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
population,  and  are  dependent,  they  receive  protection 
and  favors ;  but  when  they  increase,  and  compete  with 
the  laboring  class  for  a  living,  and  especially  when  they 
begin  to  aspire  to  social  equality,  they  cease  to  be  "  in- 
teresting negroes,"  and  become  "  niggers." 

The  words  of  Mr.  Meigs,  of  Maiden,  expressed  the 
truth ;  but  the  contemptuous  tone  in  which  he  uttered 
the  last  sentence,  gave  it  additional  force.     Said  he : — 

"I  have  been  here  for  twenty-three  years.  The  feeling 
against  the  colored  people  has  been  growing  ever  since  I  came 
here,  and  more  particularly  since  your  President's  Proclama- 
tion. They  are  becoming  now  so  very  haughty  that  they  are 
looking  upon  themselves  as  the  equals  of  the  whites  !  " 

This  prejudice  exists  so  generally  in  Canada,  that  trav- 
ellers usually  form  an  unpleasant  and  unjust  opinion  of 
the  colored  refugees,  because  it  is  usually  strong  and 
bitter  in  that  class  of  persons  with  whom  travellers  come 
most  in  contact.     For  instance,  the  head-clerk   in  the 


hotel  at 


in  answer  to   our   inquiries 


about  the  condition  of  the  colored  people,  broke  out  as 
follows: — 

"  Niggers  are  a  damned  nuisance.    They  keep  men  of  means 
^ay  from  the  place.    This  town  has  got  the  name  of  '  Nigger 


Towa,'  and  mon  of  wealth  won't  come  hero.  I  never  knew  one 
of  them  that  would  not  steal,  though  they  never  steal  any 
thing  of  any  great  amount.  Chickens  have  to  roost  high  about 
here,  I  tell  you.  The  Grand  Jury  of  this  county  has  just  in- 
dicted seven  persons,  and  every  one  of  them  was  black.  They 
will  steal  a  little  sugar,  or  a  pound  of  butter,  and  put  it  in  their 
pockets.    But  perhaps  they  are  not  to  blame  for  it,  for  they  have 

been  trained  to  steal  in  slavery." 

• 

This  sort  of  evidence  forms  the  staple  out  of  which 
newspaper  reporters  manufacture  articles,  and  form  the 
public  opinion  about  the  Canadian  refugees.  Now,  in 
this  very  hotel,  the  head  waiter,  an  intelligent  man,  who 
enjoyed  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  household, 
clerks  included,  was  a  colored  man — one  who  bought 
himself  for  $1,000,  saving,  with  singular  persistency  and 
resolution,  $50  a  year  for  twenty  years,  for  that  purpose. 
His  place  was  one  of  considerable  consequence,  requiring 
capacity  and  integrity ;  and  he  seemed  to  fill  it  to  general 
satisfaction. 

It  is  not,  however,  hotel  clerks  alone,  but  grave  officials. 
Mayors  and  others,  who,  when  first  addressed,  are  apt  to 
speak  contemptuously  of  the  colored  people;  though 
they  usually  do  them  more  justice  upon  reflection ;  espe- 
cially in  those  cities  where  the  negro  vote  is  large  enough 
to  turn  an  election. 

The  following  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  matter  of  several 
of  these  conversations.     After  explaining  our  mission, 

and  telling  Mr. ,  head  magistrate  of ,  that  tl  e 

object  of  the  interview  was  to  ask  his  opinion  of  the 
colored  people  of  his  city,  he  said  sharply : — 

"  Then  my  opinion  is  that  niggers  are  a  low,  miserable  set  of 
people,  and  I  wish  they  were  not  here." 


42 


"Well,  let  us  see;  are  tliey  intemperate?"  "Oh,  no;  I 
must  say  they  are  not.  Indeed,  you  never  see  any  drunken 
negroes  about." 

"  Are  they  riotous  and  ungovernable  ? "  '^ 

"  Oh,  no,  quite  the  contrary  ;  nqno  of  our  people  are  more 
easily  governed,  or  give  less  trouble  to  the  police." 

"  Are  they  much  given  to  crime  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  they  are." 

"  More  so  than  any  other  immigrants  of  the  laboring  class  ?'' 

"  As  to  that,  if  you  compare  them  with  foreigners,  they  are 
not  worse.  They  do  steal  chickens,  and  commit  such  petty 
offences,  but  then  a  great  many  white  people  do  that,  you 
know." 

"  Do  they  work  and  get  their  own  living,  or  do  they  beg  and 
depend  upon  public  charity  ?  " 

"  Negroes  are  too  lazy  to  work  hard  ;  but  I  must  admit  that 
they  are  industrious.  They  keep  pottering  about,  and  pick  up 
a  good  living,  somehow.  At  any  rate,  they  do  not  beg,  and 
they  have  very  few  paupers." 

"  Well,  if  they  don't  get  drunk,  and  don't  steal  over  much, 
and  don't  beg,  and  don't  become  a  public  charge,  and  if  they 
work  and  support  themselves,  why  are  they  not  good  citizens  ?  " 

"  I  can't  deny  there 's  something  in  that.  But  still,  I  think 
they  are  a  nuisance ;  I  wish  they  were  out  of  the  place.  1 
don't  wish,  however,  to  be  quoted  publicly  as  saying  this,  be- 
cause, you  know,  it  might  make  trouble."* 


The  Hon.  Isaac  Buchanan,  M.  P.,  of  Hamilton,  said 
to  us : — 


"  I  think  we  see  the  eflfects  of  slavery  here  very  plainly. 
The  children  of  the  colored  people  go  to  the  public  schools,  but 
a  great  many  of  the  white  parents  object  to  it,  though  their 
children  do  not,  that  I  know  of.  I  suppose,  if  the  question  was 
put  to  vote,  the  people  would  vote  against  having  the  negroes 
remain  here." 


*  Coarse  people  in  Canada  say  "  nigger"  habitually ;  highly  cultivated 
people,  never.  Others  say  "  colored  people,"  "  negroes,"  or  "  niggers,", 
according  to  their  mood  of  miud. 


43 


Hon.  George  Brown,  M.  P.,  of  Toronto,  said : — 

"  I  think  the  prejudice  against  the  colored  people  is  stronger 
here  than  in  the  States.  To  show  you  the  prejudice  that  exists 
against  them,  I  will  mention  one  fact.  When  I  was  a  candi- 
date for  Parliament  in  Upper  Canada,  150  people  signed  a 
paper,  saying  that  if  I  would  agree  to  urge  the  passage  of  a 
law  that  the  negro  should  be  excluded  from  the  common 
schools,  and  putting  a  head-tax  iipon  those  coming  into  the 
country,  they  would  all  vote  for  me ;  otherwise  they  would 
vote  for  my  opponent.  There  were  160  men  degraded  enough 
to  sign  such  a  paper  and  send  it  to  me."         '  n 

Mr.  McCullum,  principal  teacher  of  the  Hamilton 
High  School,  says: — 

m 

"  Up  at  the  oil  springs,  the  colored  people  have  quite  a  little 
town.  The  white  people  were  there,  and  they  had  all  the  work. 
They  charged  six  shillings  for  sawing  a  cord  of  wood.  The 
colored  people  went  up  there  from  Chatham,  and,  in  order  to 
get  constart  employment,  they  charged  only  fifty  cents  a  cord. 
What  did  the  white  people  do  ?  They  raised  a  mob,  went  one 
night  and  burned  every  shanty  that  belonged  to  a  colored 
person,  and  drove  them  off  entirely.  Well,  it  was  a  mob ;  it 
was  not  society  at  all ;  it  was  but  the  dregs  of  society  who  did 
this.  They  took  a  quantity  of  the  oil,  and  while  some  of  their 
number  were  parleying  with  the  colored  people  in  front  of  their 
doors,  they  went  behind,  threw  the  oil  over  their  shanties,  set  it 
on  fire,  and  the  buildings  were  in  flames  in  a  moment.  The 
parties  were  arrested,  and  two  of  them  sent  to  the  penitentiary 
for  seven  years." 

Rev.  James  Proudfoot,  of  London,  says: — 

"  You  will  find  a  great  many  colore  ^.  people  about  Chatham — 
too  many.  It  has  produced  a  certain  reaction  among  the  white 
people  there.  The  white  people  do  not  associate  much  with 
them  ;  and  even  in  the  courts  of  justice,  a  place  is  allotted  to 
the  colored  people  —  they  are  not  allowed  to  mix  with  the 
whites.    A  number  of  gentlemen  have  told  me  that." 


44 


ill 


l!ii| 


Mayor  Cross,  of  Chatham,  says : — 

"  The  colored  people  generally  live  apart.  There  has  been, 
hitherto,  a  very  strong  prejudice  against  them,  and  the  result  is 
that  they  are,  generally  speaking,  confined  to  a  particular 
locality  of  the  town." 

Rev.  Mr.  Gedcles,  of  Toronto,  says : — 

"  The  great  mass  of  the  colored  population  will  be  found  in 
the  West ;  and  where  they  go  in  any  great  numbers,  the  people 
acquire  a  strong  prejudice  against  them." 

Mr.  Sinclair,  of  Chatham,  says : —      i 

"  Our  laws  know  nothing  about  creed,  color,  or  nationality. 
If  foreign-born,  w^en  they  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  they  are 
the  same  as  natives.  But  in  regard  to  social  prejudice,  that  is 
something  we  cannot  help.  The  colored  people  are  considered 
inferior,  and  must  remain  so  for  many  years,  perhaps  forever, 
because  their  color  distinguishes  them.  One  or  two  colored 
men  are  constables  here,  but  that  is  all."    •    •    *    • 

"  Many  of  the  colored  people,  even  in  this  town,  say  that  if 
they  could  have  the  same  privileges  in  the  States  that  they  have 
here,  they  would  not  remain  a  moment.  The  prejudice  is  not 
so  strong  in  this  town,  where  tliey  have  been  so  long  known, 
and  where  the  people  see  they  can  be  improved  and  elevated ; 
but  even  in  this  county,  there  is  one  township  where  no  colored 
man  is  allowed  to  settle.  One  man  has  tried  to  build  a  house 
there,  but  as  -fast  as  ho  built  it  in  the  day  time,  the  white  people 
would  pull  it  down  at  night.  No  personal  violence  was  done  to 
him.  That  was  in  the  township  of  Orford.  In  the  township  of 
Howard,  I  think  there  are  only  four  colored  families,  and  they 
are  a  very  respectable  class  of  people.  In  that  township,  there 
was  as  much  prejudice  as  anywhere,  fourteen  years  ago ;  but 
two  colored  families,  very  respectable  and  intelligent  people, 
settled  there — they  were  rather  superior  in  those  respects  to 
the  neighborhood  generally  —  and  they  did  a  vast  amount 
towards  doing  away  with  the  prejudice.  They  were  intelligent, 
cleanly,  moral,  and  even  religious ;  so  that  ministers  of  the 
gospel  would  actually  call  and  take  dinner  with  these  people. 


as  they  found  every  thing  so  nice,  tidy  and  comfortable,  and  the 
poor  colored  people  so  kind,  and  so  ready  to  welcome  any 
decent  person  who  came.  So  that  a  good  deal  depends  upon 
the  first  samples  that  go  into  a  town." 

* 

The  testimony  of  the  colored  people  is  still  more  strik- 
ing.   Mrs.  Brown,  (colored,)  of  St.  Catherines? 

says : —  '  * 

"  I  find  more  prejudice  hero  than  I  did  in  York  State.  When 
I  was  at  homo,  I  could  go  anywhere ;  but  hero,  my  goodness ! 
you  get  an  insult  on  every  side.  But  the  colored  people  have 
their  rights  before  the  law ;  that  is  the  only  thing  that  lias  kept 
me  here." 

Dr.  A.  T.  Jones,  (colored,)  of  London,  says: —  - 

"  There  is  a  mean  prejudice  here  that  is  not  to  be  found  in 

the  States,  though  the  Northern  States  are  pretty  bad." 

f 

Rev.  L.  C.  Chambers,  (colored,)  of  .St.  Catherines,  says : 

"  The  prejudice  here  against  the  colored  people  is  stronger,  a 
great  deal,  than  it  is  in  Massachusetts.  Since  I  have  been  in 
the  country,  I  went  to  a  church  one  Sabbath,  and  the  sexton 
asked  me,  'What  do  you  want  here  to-day?'  I  said,  *Is 
there  not  to  be  service  here  to-day  ?  *  He  said,  *  Yes,  but  we 
do  n't  want  any  niggers  here.'  I  said,  *  You  are  mistaken  in 
the  man.    I  am  not  a  "  nigger,"  but  a  negro.' " 

Mrs.  Susan  Boggs,  (colored,)  of  St.  Catherines,  says : — 

"  If  it  was  not  for  the  Queen's  law,  we  would  bo  mobbed 
here,  and  we  could  not  stay  in  this  house.  The  prejudice  is  a 
great  deal  worse  here  than  it  is  in  the  States." 

G.  F.  Simpson,  (colored,)  of  Toronto,  says : —    > 

"  I  must  say  that,  leaving  the  law  out  of  the  question,  I  find 
that  prejudice  hero  is  equally  strong  as  on  the  other  side.  The 
law  is  the  only  thing  that  sustains  us  in  this  country." 


4$ 


^     John  Shipton,  (colored,)  of  London,  says : — 

"  I  uovor  oxporioiiccd  noar  tho  projudico  down  thoro,  (in  tho 
States,)  that  I  have  horo.  Tlio  projudico  lioro  would  l)o  a  lioap 
worso  tlian  in  the  Statos,  if  it  was  not  that  tho  law  keop»  it 
down." 

It  would  be  easy  to  show  how  the  natural  sympathy 
and  compassion  which  is  felt  for  the  exiles  on  their  first 
arrival  by  all,  and  which  continues  to  be  felt  by  people  of 
Christian  culture,  is  converted  into  antipathy  and  ani- 
mosity among  the  vulgar.  The  teachers  in  the  pulpit, 
and  the  teachers  of  public  schools,  have  much  to  answer 
for  in  this  matter.  The  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England 
are  generally  staunch  friends  of  the  negro.  Rev.  Mr. 
Geddes,  of  Hamilton,  said : — 

"  Thoro  aro  several  colored  people  belonging  to  my  church. 
I  have  them  also  in  tho  Sunday  school,  and  have  always  taken 
an  interest  in  the  improvement  of  their  condition,  socially  and 
religiously.  Tliere  are  two  young  colored  women  also  in  the 
Sunday  school,  who  teach  white  children  of  respectable 
parents," 

He  related  to  us  a  case  of  two  young  ladies  who  were 
sent  to  Hamilton  for  education,  and  who  joined  his  Sunday 
school.  Their  parents,  on  learning  that  colored  children 
attended  the  school,  sent  a  remonstrance,  saying  that 
their  children  must  not  be  associated  with  negroes.  His 
answer  was : — 

"  I  am  sorry  that  any  persons  belonging  to  the  Church  of 
England  are  so  narrow-minded  as  to  suppose  th«^ir  children 
will  be  injured  because  there  are  a  few  colored  persons  in  the 
same  school ;  but  of  course  we  cannot  change  our  principle, 
and  the  young  ladies  must  leave." 

Many    Presbyterian  clergymen   are  equally  humane 


i,.!i 


47 

and  just ;  but  there  arc  those  of  all  denominations  who 
refrain  from  rebuking  by  their  example  the  intolerant 
and  unchristian  spirit  which  prevails  among  their  people. 

So  some  of  the  teachers  in  public  schools,  risinj^  to 
the  dignity  of  their  high  calling,  see  in  their  colored 
pupils  poor  and  friendless  children,  who  have  most  need 
of  sympathy  and  encouragement,  and  therefore  they  be- 
stow them  freely,  careless  whether  committee-men  and  the 
public  approve  or  not.  h        "      ' 

Mr.  McCuUum,  principal  of  the  well-appointed  High 
School  in  Hamilton,  says : — 

"  I  had  cliargo  of  tho  Provincial  Model  School  at  Toronto  for 
ever  ten  years,  and  I  have  had  charge  of  this  school  over  four 
years,  and  have  had  colored  children  tinder  my  charge  all  that 
time.  They  conduct  themselves  wit)  the  strictest  propriety, 
and  1  have  never  known  an  occasion  where  the  white  children 
have  had  any  difficulty  with  them  on  account  of  color.  At  first, 
when  any  new  ones  came,  I  used  to  go  out  with  them  in  the 
playground  myself^  and  play  tvith  them  specially^  just  to  show 
that  I  made  no  distinction  whatever;  and  then  the  children 
made  none.    I  found  this  plan  most  healthy  in  its  operation. 

"  Little  white  children  do  not  show  tho  slightest  repugnance 
to  playing  with  tho  colored  children,  or  coming  in  contact  with 
them.  I  never  knew  of  a  case.  But  sometimes  parents  will 
not  let  their  children  sit  at  the  same  desk  with  a  colored  child. 
The  origin  of  the  difficulty  is  not  being  treated  like  other 
children.  We  have  no  difficulty  here.  We  give  the"  children 
their  seats  according  to  their  credit-marks  in  the  preceding 
month,  and  I  never  have  had  the  slightest  difficulty.  The 
moral  conduct  of  tho  colored  children  is  just  as  good  as  that 
*of  the  others." 


In  London,    the    head-master  of  the  High  School 
manifested  a  different  spirit :  he  said, — 

"  It  does  not  work  well  with  us  to  have  colored  children  in 
school  witlv  the  whites.    In  our  community,  there  is  more 


Ill 


m 


B-f- 1 


prejudice  against  the  colored  people,  and  the  children  receive 
it  from  their  parents.  The  colored  children  must  feel  it, 
for  the  white  children  refuse  to  play  with  them  in  the  play- 
ground. Whether  it  is  a  natural  feeling  or  not  I  cannot  tell, 
but  it  shows  itself  in  the  playground  and  in  the  class-room." 

One  of  the  teachers  said : — 

"  I  think  that  the  colored  children  would  be  better  educated, 
and  that  it  would  be  more  conducive  to  the  happiness  both  of 
colored  and  white  children  if  they  were  in  separate  schools. 
Tli'e  colored  children  would  not  be  subjected  to  so  much 
annoyance.  Some  white  children  of  the  lower  orders  don't 
mind  sitting  by  them  in  school ;  but  there  are  others  who  are 
very  particular,  and  don't  like  it  at  all." 

Now,  this  head-master  is  a  man  of  vigorous  nature, 
who  makes  his  influence  felt  widely;  and  should  he 
exert  that  influence  as  Mr.  McCuUum  does,  then  perhaps 
"  it  would  work  well  to  have  colored  children  in  school 
with  the  whites ;"  then  perhaps  his  sub-teachers  would 
not  show  such  lack  of  sympathy  with  the  little  colored 
children  committed,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to  their 
charge ;  then  perhaps  there  would  be  no  such  sad  sight 
as  wo  saw  in  the  playground,  where  colored  children  stood 
aside,  and  looked  wishfully  at  groups  of  whites  playing 
games  from  which  they  were  exclnr.ed.  Such  scenes  do 
not  occur  in  the  playground  at  Hamilton,  because  the 
teacher  takes  care,  by  showing  personal  interest  in  the 
colored  children,  to  elevate  them  in  the  eyes  of  their 
comrades.  Moreover,  it  is  not  likely  that  the  school  com-  ■ 
mittee  of  London  would  persist  in  efforts  to  expel  colored 
children  from  the  public  schools,  and  so  degrade  them 
in  the  public  eye,  if  one  humane  master  should  publicly 
protest  against  it,  as  any  mtizen  has  a  right  to  do. 


49 


'V 


» 


3ly 


Toronto  and  Hamilton  are  distinguishBd  among  the 
populous  places  of  Canada  West  for  the  comparative 
liberality  and  kindness  towards  colored  people.  London 
is  not ;  and  the  difference  arises  in  some  degree,  doubt- 
less, from  the  different  spirit  which  children  imbibe  in 
the  public  schools  under  different  head  masters.  At 
any  rate,  this  accounts  for  the  difference  better  than 
the  theory  of  "  contagion  "  from  Americans  does. 

The  Canadians  constantly  boast  that  their  laws  know 
no  difference  of  color ;  that  they  make  blacks  eligible  to 
offices,  and  protect  all  their  rights;  and  the  refugees 
constantly  admit  that  it  is  so.  The  very  frequency  of 
the  assertion  and  of  the  admission,  proves  that  it  is  not 
considered  a  matter  of  course  that  simple  justice  should 
be  done.  People  do  not  boast  that  the  law  protects 
.  white  meUs 

After  making  all  due  allowance  for  the  fact  that  the 
lack  of  culture  disqualifies  most  of  the  refugees  for  many 
offices  to  which  they  are  legally  eligible,  and  also  for  re- 
fined society,  there  is  manifest  injustice  done  to  them  in 
various  ways  by  reason  of  a  vulgar  and  bitter  prejudice, 
which  defeats  the  benevolent  purposes  of  the  law.  For 
instance,  they  are  practically  kept  off  the  juries.  The 
testimony  of  Mr.  A.  Bartlett,  town  clerk  of  Windsor, 
shows  one  way  in  which  it  is  done.     He  says : — 

"  The  selection  of  the  jury  is  a  simple  thing.  We  begin 
with  the  man  who  is  assessed  the  highest  on  the  roll,  and  we 
go  down  to  half  the  names  on  the  roll ;  then  the  amount  paid 
by  that  person  who  is  lowest  on  the  first  half  forms  the  amount 
of  property  qualification  for  that  jury.  Then  we  take  two- 
thirds  of  that  number,  and  of  course  the  selectors  have  it  in 
their  power  to  say  what  two-thirds  shall  be  taken ;  and  of 
7 


i 


m 


course  the  colored  man  is  cut  off,  because  they  don't  want 
him  on." 

It  happens  sometimes  that  a  sturdy  Englishman,  seeing 
only  his  duty,  insists  upon  its  being  done  legally  and 
impartially,  and  then  colored  men  are  drawn. 

Such  a  case  happened  recently.  A  black  man  was 
drawn  and  duly  summoned.  He  appeared  in  court,  and 
was  placed  upon  the  jury,  to  the  consternation  of  some 
snobs,  who  refused  to  sit  in  the  box  with  him.  The 
Judge  had  the  manliness  to  reprimand  them,  then  to  fine 
them,  and  finally  to  imprison  them;  which  at  last 
brought  them  to  what  senses  they  had. 

There  is  the  same  practical  difiiculty  with  regard  to 

Public  Schools. 

The  Canadian  law  makes  no  distinction  of  color.  It 
j)roposes  that  common  schools  shall  be  beneficial  to  all 
classes  alike.  Practically,  however,  there  is  a  distinction 
of  color,  and  negroes  do  not  have  equal  advantage  from 
public  instruction  with  whites.  The  law  allows  colored 
people  to  send  their  children  to  the  common  schools,  or 
to  have  separate  schools  of  their  own.  They  have  asked 
for  and  obtained  such  separate  schools  in  Chatham,  Mai- 
den, and  AVindsor.  Now,  there  is  a  growing  feeling 
among  the  whites  that  they  made  a  mistake  in  giving  the 
blacks  their  choice ;  and  a  strong  disposition  is  mani- 
fested ill  many  places  to  retract  it,  and  to  confine  colored 
children  to  separate  or  caste  schools. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  growing  feeling  on  the 
part  of  the  colored  people  that  they  made  a  mistake  in 
asking  for  separate  schools ;  and  a  strong  disposition  it 


the 
tn 

bi  is 


manifested  to  give  them  up;  but  the  whites  will  not 
allow  them  to  do  so. 

This  again  shows  how  surely  the  natural  sympathy 
for  the  refugee  is  converted  into  antipathy  or  prejudice 
whenever,  by  increase  in  number,  they  come  into  antag- 
onism with  the  dominant  class.  By  such  antagonism, 
the  natural  affinities  between  the  whites  become  intensi- 
fied, and  they  desire  to  keep  the  blacks  in  a  separate 
caste,  because  they  feel  that  it  must  be  a  lower  one. 
Many  colored  people  see  this  also,  and  they  desire  to 
prevent  the  establishment  of  such  caste.  Each  party 
begins  to  see  that  the  democratic  tendency  of  the  com- 
mon school  is  to  prevent  or  weaken  castes,  while  the 
inevitable  tendency  of  the  separate  schools  is  to  create 
and  to  strengthen  them. 

The  struggle  has  already  commenced  in  several  places. 
The  school  committee  of  London  has  shown  its  purpose 
of  removing  the  colored  children  from  the  common 
school  to  a  separate  school  * ;  and  the  colored  people 
have  declared  their  purpose  of  resisting  it.  Most  active 
among  them  is  Dr.  A.  T.  Jones,  a  very  black  man,  and  a 
very  intelligent  one  also  ;  although  he  was  a  slave  during 
the  first  twenty  years  of  his  life.   He  testified  as  follows : — 

"Tiie  people  here  won't  make  the  separate  schools  go. 
When  they  try  it,  they  will  have  trouble.  I  will  tell  you  pre- 
cisely what  I  tell  them.  I  tell  them — '  I  have  eight  children,  who 
.  were  all  born  in  this  town, — British  subjects,  as  much  as  the 
whitest  among  you ;  and  they  don't  iSelieve  in  any  thing  else 
but  the  Queen.    Now,  instead  of  leaving  these  children  to 

*  See  Report  of  a  Sub-Committee  of  the  School  Trustees  of  the  ("!•*'•  rf 
London  ;  in  appendix  No.  2.  It  v  valuable,  inasmuch  as  it  shows  how  i.  .0- 
eral  and  unjust  well-meaning  men  may  become  when  governed  by  the  spirit 
of  caste. 


m 


% 


D 

"1(1 


I 


52 


grow  up  with  that  love  for  the  country  and  the  Queen,  you 
are  trying  to  plant  within  them  a  hatred  for  the  country  ;  and 
the  day  may  come  when  you  will  hear  them  saying,  "  This  is 
the  country  that  disfranchise^  us,  and  deprives  us  of  our  rights ;" 
and  you  may  see  them  coming  back  here  from  the  United 
States  with  muskets  in  their  hands.'  I  don't  believe  that  in 
ten  years  from  this  time  you  will  see  a  colored  man  in  this 
country.  We  won't  stay  here  after  this  war  is  decided ;  for  I 
have  my  opinion  in  which  way  it  is  to  be  decided.  I  nave  told' 
my  children  to  stay  in  school  until  they  are  put  out.  '  If  they 
tell  you  to  go,'  I  have  said  to  them, '  don't  go,  but  wait  until 
they  lay  hands  on  you  to  put  you  out;  and  then  you  come 
quietly  home,  and  I  will  attend  to  it.'  I  have  four  children  in 
the  school,  who  go  regularly,  and  are  getting  on  very  well ; 
there  is  no  complaint  of  them.  I  told  the  trustees  if  there 
was  any  complaint  of  their  not  behaving  well,  or  any  thing  of 
the  kind,  to  expel  them  from  the  school,  or  let  me  know." 


7.  r 


This  struggle  between  a  fugitive  slave  and  the  school 
trustees  of  the  city  of  London  involves  a  great  principle, 
and  the  decision  of  the  Court  will  be  looked  for  with 
interest,  not  only  by  the  parties  immediately  concerned, 
but  by  multitudes  in  Canada.  Nor  should  the  interest 
be  confined  to  that  country ;  for  the  same  question  and 
the  same  struggle  will  arise  in  this. 

Meantime,  the  question  has  been  decided  in  favor  of 
the  right  of  the  school  trustees  of  London  to  establish 
a  separate  school  for  colored  children  by  the  highest 
authority  short  of  the  Court, — Dr.  Ryerson,  the  Chief 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  in  Canada  West. 
He  said  to  us : — 


':  :  I 


;  *«»•« 


"  It  is  within  the  power  of  the  school  trustees  in  cities  and 
towns  to  make  a  distinction  between  colors,  for  there  they  have 
the  direction  of  all  the  schools ;  but  in  country  places,  where 
there  are  distinct  school  municipalities,  it  is  at  the  option  of  the 


md 
lave 
lere 
Ithe 


colored  people  to  have  separate  schools  or  not.  In  some  country 
places,  the  trustees  have  refused  to  admit  colored  children  to 
the  schools ;  the  parents  have  appealed  to  me  ;  I  have  referred 
them  to  the  courts ;  and  the  courts  have  always  given  decisions 
in  their  favor." 

It  is  conceded  that  the  law  authorizes  the  school  trustees 
to  establish  separate  schools  for  colored  people  upon  their 
asking  for  them ;  it  also  authorizes  school  trustees  in 
cities  and  towns  to  establish  separate  schools  without 
such  restriction.  The  obvious  intent  of  giving  this  latter 
power  was  to  meet  the  wants  of  Roman  Catholics,  who 
congregate  in  towns  and  cities.  But  notwithstanding  this 
intent,  the  Chief  Superintendent  decides  that,  under  the 
law,  the  trustees  md*y  establish  separate  schools  for  colored 
children,  and  exclude  them  from  the  schools  for  whites. 
This  seems,  to  a  layman,  an  extraordinary  decision,  how- 
ever it  may  strike  lawyers.  It  seems  extraordinary,  be- 
cause the  whole  people,  speaking  through  the  laws,  not 
only  declared  against  distinctions  which  lead  to  the 
establishment  of  castes,  but  purposely  ignored  distinction 
of  color  among  citizens.  They  established  a  government 
to  carry  out  their  will ;  and  yet  a  subordinate  branch 
of  this  government  may  use  power  derived  from  it  to 
defeat  that  will,  and  to  degrade  part  of  the  citizens  on 
account  of  their  color ! 

Moreover,  it  would  seem  that  by  permitting  the  School 
Trustees  to  establish  separate  schools  upon  the  petition  of 
colored  people,  the  legislature  did  not  contemplate  the 
establishment  of  such  schools  against  their  will. 

The  spirit  of  the  law  clearly  contemplated  common 
schools,   not  compulsory  caste  schools ;  and  if  these  can 


i>i 


i\ 


♦•1 


54 


be  established  in  virtue  of  any  6y-law,  then  verily,  the 
letter  killeth  the  spirit. 

Underlying  the  great  institution  of  the  common 
school  are  two  primal  ideas,  one  of  individual  culture, 
the  other  of  human  brotherhood.  In  the  common  school  ' 
house  is  held  the  first  gathering  of  the  Demos,  in  primary 
assemblage,  never  to  be  dissolved,  only  adjourned  from' 
day  to  day,  through  all  time.  The  little  people  trained 
in  the  exercise  of  family  love  at  home,  come  together  in 
the  school-house  to  enlarge  the  circle  of  their  affec- 
tions by  loving  other  children  of  the  greater  human 
family,  in  its  wider  home — the  world.  Strange  perver- 
sion, if  the  first  moral  lesson  should  be  that  of  exclusion 

« 

and  caste ! 

It  would  be  easy  and  agreeable  to  cite  cases  in  which 
not  only  justice  but  good  will  is  manifested  towards  the 
refugees.  It  is  usually  done  in  the  towns  where  they 
make  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  population.  It  is 
done  in  the  University  of  Toronto,  and  in  some  other 
literary  educational  institutions.  But  upon  the  whole, 
there  is  a  strong  popular  prejudice  against  the  colored 
people,  which  operates  greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
refugees. 

Then  another  disadvantage  is  to  be  considered.  Emi- 
grants going  to  a  new  country,  especially  to  a  cold  one, 
need  to  make  some  preparation,  and  to  take  v/ith  them 
a  little  property.  These  refugees,  however,  could  do 
neither.  Those  from  the  Slave  States  landed  in  Canada 
penniless,  and  without  change  of  raiment.  Those  from  the 
Free  States  brought  small  sums  which  they  had  earned ; 
but  very  few  had  money  "ienough  for  a  month's  subsist- 


'    ■-■■       ■     55  ' 

ence.  The  Provincial  Government  did  nothing  for  them ; 
and  the  local  authorities  made  no  provision  for  employ- 
ing them.  Some  money,  indeed,  has  been  raised  by  con- 
tribution in  England  and  the  United  States,  but  most  of 
this  has  been  expended  (with  questionable  wisdom)  for 
establishing  several  communities,  or  agricultural  colo- 
nies ;  for  building  up  churches ;  and  lor  supporting  white 
agents  in  comfort.  Very  little  of  this  money  has  been 
applied  directly  to  the  aid  of  the   refugees. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  disadvantages,  they  have 
shoAvn  the  will  and  the  ability  to  work  and  to  support 
themselves. 


Disposition  to   Work. 

No  sensible  people  in  Canada  charge  the  refugees  with 
slothfulness.  The  only  charge  worth  notice  is  that  they 
"  shirk  hard  work."  This  charge  is  made  thoughtlessly 
by  most  people ;  wrathfuUy  by  those  who  have  to  do  the 
heavy  drudgery.  The  gist  of  the  matter,  however,  is 
this:  In  every  civilized  community  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  hard  work,  requiring  muscular  effort,  to  be 
done  by  somebody.  In  Canada,  as  elsewhere,  this  work, 
instead  of  being  made  a  blessing  to  all  by  fair  and  equal 
distribution,  is  made  a  grievous  burden  to  one  class,  by 
being  thrown  exclusively  on  their  shoulders,  while 
another  class  suffers  from  lack  of  it. 

Each  white  man  tries  to  spare  his  own  muscles,  and  to 
make  some  of  his  neighbors  do  his  share  of  manual 
labor.  If  he  must  work,  he  prefers  the  lightest  kind  of 
labor.     The   negro   stands   by,   and  imitates   the  white 


y 


¥■ 


56 


11 


}* 


man.  Work  he  ipust ;  but,  like  his  fugleman,  he  pre- 
fers the  light  kind  ;  and  he  contrives  to  get  it. 

Men  want  to  be  shaved,  and  to  have  their  boots  blacked. 
They  want  also  to  have  heavy  hods  carried  up  ladders ; 
and  wet  mud  shovelled  out  of  ditches.  There  stand 
Irishmen,  Germans,  and  negroes,  seeking  work.  Each 
would  prefer  the  lighter  kind,  especially  as  it  is  best 
paid.  Each  would  prefer  to  exercise  his  fingers  rather 
than  his  arms ;  and  to  wait  and  tend,  rather  than  strain 
his  back  and  weary  his  muscles.  But  the  employer 
prefers  the  nimble-fingered  negro  for  his  light  work,  and 
the  brawny-armed  Irishman  for  his  heavy  work.  So  the 
negro  shaves,  and  brushes,  and  tends,  and  frisks  about ; 
while  his  competitor  delves,  and  swears  that  "  a  nigger 
is  too  lazy  to   work." 

Sometimes  the  competition  and  contrast  are  very 
striking,  as  in  hotels  and  boarding-houses.  Here  the 
colored  men  abound;  but  in  these  very  houses,  the 
porterage,  and  all  heavy  work  and  dirty  work,  are  done 
by  white  men.  If  you  ring  your  bell,  the  nimble  mulatto 
who  skips  up  to  you  in  his  white  linen  jacket,  does  not 
soil  his  dainty  fingers  by  bringing  the  coal  which  you 
ask  for,  but  sends  a  stalwart  fireman,  a  traditionary  white 
man,  but  so  black  and  begrimed  by  coal,  that  in  the 
South  '     might  need  free  papers  to  prove  his  lineage. 

In  xurther  proof  of  the  mulatto's  disposition  to  imi- 
tate the  white  man,  and  shift  the  heaviest  burden  to 
other  men's  shoulders,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  colonists 
in  Liberia  do  exactly  as  the  exiles  in  Canada  do,  except 
that  they  use  the  native  negroes,  instead  of  Celts,  to  hew 
their  wood  and  draw  their "^water. 


'■I 


V 


"  I  was  astonished,"  says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cowan,  "  to  see  in 
Harper,  native  women  bringing  up  cord-wood  on  their  heads 
from  the  landing  on  the  river-bank  to  private  dwellings,  at 
twenty-five  cents  a  day,  while  the  colonist  felt  above  such 
work."* 

Verily,  human  nature  does  not  change  with  time,  nor 
does  color  ^ect  it ;  for  the  old  maxim  may  be  applied  to 
these  colonists — "  They  who  cross  the  sea  change  their 
sky,  but  not  their  spirit."  ^  - 

But  mulattoes  dislike  hard  manual  labor,  not  only 
because  it  is  held  less  respectable  than  light  work  or  no 
work,  but  because  by  their  very  organization, — by  their 
lymphatic  temperament,  and  lack  of  animal  vigor,  they 
are  less  adapted  to  prolonged  muscular  effort  than  full 
breeds.  That  they  do  not  lack  industry  and  thrift,  tl;ie 
condition  of  those  in  Canada  proves  clearly,  for  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  colored  people  have  there 
worked  hard  for  a  living,  and  have  earned  it. 

First,  there  is  negative  proof  K)f  this,  in  the  fact  that 
they  do  not  beg,  and  that  they  receive  no  more  than  their 
share  of  public  support,  if  even  so  much.  We  traversed 
the  whole  length  of  Canada  West  three  times,  stopping 
at  the  places  where  colored  people  most  abounded  ; 
going  into  their  quarters  in  the  cities,  and  visiting 
their  farm-houses  by  the  wayside;  yet  we  met  no  beg 
gars ;  and  although  there  were  evident  signs  of  ex- 
treme poverty  among  those  recently  arrived,  we  did 
not  see  such  marks  of  utter  destitution  and  want,  as 
may  be  found  in  the  lower  walks  of  life  in  most  -coun- 

*«  Liberia  As  I  Found  It."    By  Rev.  A.  Cowan,  Agent  of  the  Kentucky 
Colonization  Society,    p.  122. 

8 


ii» 


% 


I 

I 


58  *  • 

tries.     The  following  are  fair  specimens  of  the  testimony 
given  by  intelligent  white  persons  upon  this  point. 
Hon.  George  Brown,  M.  P.,  of  Toronto,  says: — 

'^  One  thing  about  the  colored  people  here  is  quite  remarkable ;  ■ 
they  never  beg.  They  only  ask  for  work ;  and  when  they  get 
work,  if  they  have  borrowed  any  money,  they  will  come  back 
and  pay  it  —  a  thing  I  never  knew  white  men  to  do.  Their 
ministers  are  about  the  only  beggars  with  black  faces  I  have 
ever  seen." 


Mr.  Park,  a  merchant  of  Maiden,  says : — 

"  Part  of  theia  (the  colored  population)  are  disposed  to  bo 
industrious,  and  part  of  them  are  pretty  indolent.  They  do  n't 
take  care  of  their  own  poor.  We  have  no  poor-house.  The 
poor  are  relieved  either  by  the  government  of  the  municipality, 
or  by  the  people.  The  colored  people  get  about  the  same 
assistance,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  that  the  wliites  do. 
I  think  they  beg  more  than  the  whites  do." 

Mr.  Brush,  Town  Clerk  of  Maiden,  says : — 

"  A  portion  of  them  (the  colored  people)  are  pretty  well — 
behaved,  and  another  portion  not.  We  have  a  very  small  Irisli 
laboring  population.  A  great  many  of  these  colored  people  go 
and  sail  (arc  sailors)  in  the  summer  time,  and  in  the  winter, 
lie  round,  and  don't  do  much.  The  upper  part  of  this  town  is 
inhabited  by  French  people,  the  worst  people  in  the  world. 
There  is  not  the  toss  of  a  copper  between  them  and  the  colored 
people.  We  have  to  help  a  great  many  of  them  ;  more  than 
any  other  class  of  people  we  have  here.  I  have  been  Clerk  of 
the  Council  for  three  years,  and  have  had  the  opportunity  of 
knowing.  I  think  the  Council  have  given  more  to  the  colored 
people  than  to  any  others." 

In  and  about  Maiden  the  colored  people  congregate 
too  numerously,  and  do  not  do  so  well  as  in  other  places. 


m 


69 

The  llev.  James  Proudfoot,  of  London,  says : — "  I  don't 
know  a  beggar  among  the  colored  people." 

The  great  mass  of  the  colored  people  of  Canada  have 
been  thrown  entirely  upon  their  own  resources ;  and  their 
history  is  generally  like  that  of  a  fugitive  whom  we  met, 
who  told  us  that  on  arrival,  he  had  to  borrow  twenty- 
five  cents  to  buy  an  axe,  and  from  that  day  forward  had 
worked  on  without  asking  favors,  until  he  had  become 
independent  and  comfortable.  " 

There  is  a  most  striking  contrast  between  these  exiles, — 
penniless,  unaided,  in  a  cold  climate,  amid  unsympathiz* 
ing  people,  —  and  those  who  were  sent,  at  great  expense, 
across  the  ocean  to  an  African  climate,  then  supported 
entirely  for  six  months,  and  afterwards  aided  and  bolstered 
up  by  a  powerful  society,  which  still  expend  large  sums 
for  the  support  of  the  Colony.  The  first  have  suc- 
ceeded ;  the  latter  have  virtually  failed.  Let  the  lesson  be 
pondered  by  those  who  are  considering  what  shall  be  done 
with  the  negro. 

But  second,  there  is  positive  and  tangible  proof  of  the 
will  and  the  ability  of  the  colored  people  to  work  and  sup- 
port themselves,  and  gather  substance  even  in  the  hard 
climate  of  Canada. 


Property. 
The  Mayor  of  London  says : — 

"  I  think  there  are  about  seventy-five  colored  families  here. 
They  all  pay  taxes.  They  have  not  all  got  property,  but  every 
male  over  twenty-one  pays  the  road  tax  of  two  dollars  per 
annum.  8ome  of  them  keep  little  huckster  shops,  but  that  is 
about  as  far  as  they  go  in  that  direction.    There  are  uoue  of 


•  ■'t 

4 


60 


any  wealth,  though  there  are  a  good  many  who  own  a  single 
lot  of  land  apiece." 


Mr.  William  Clark,  of  London,  says : — 


r, 


"  I  don't  know  that  there  is  any  pauperism  here  among  the 
colored  people.  They  get  work  here,  and  some  of  them  work 
very  well  indeed.  I  never  knew  of  any  difficulty  with  them 
here,  any  more  than  with  white  people.  I  have  lived  amongst 
them,  and  never  had  any  difficulty  with  them  at  all.  Some  of 
them  are  very  good,  and  some  very  bad  — just  like  other  people. 
They  compare  very  favorably  with  the  other  laboring  classej." 

Col.  Stephenson,  of  St.  Catherines,  says : — 

"  The  negroes  have  furniture,  whereas  the  Irish  have  none. 
Every  copper  of  money  the  Irish  get,  they  lay  up ;  and  the 
victuals  they  eat,  they  generally  go  out  and  beg  from  the  peo- 
ple. I  have  seen  an  old  woman  here  begging  who  had  $1,700 
in  the  bank.  You  could  not  get  a  negro  to  do  that.  We  don't 
find  many  paupers  among  the  negroes,  as  a  general  thing. 
There  is  one  thing  I  have  noticed  ;  they  cannot  bear  prosperity. 
If  they  get  a  little  ahead,  they  won't  work,  unless  they  can  get 
higher  wages." 

Dr.  H.  T.  Kidley,  of  Hamilton,  says : — 

"  I  think  the  colored  population  are  a  very  quiet,  well- 
behaved  set  of  people.  My  patients  are  able  to  pay  a  moderate 
fee.  Full  one-half  of  the  colored  people,  I  suppose,  are  able  to 
pay  nothing.    I  think  they  compare  well  with  the  lower  Irish." 


w< 


,-*, 

»«!,, 


In  another  connection,  he  says : — 


u 


Very  few  of  the  colored  people  beg.  I  do  not  know  of  a 
colored  man  who  has  come  to  me  for  a  cent.  They  assist  each 
other.  There  are  a  few  who  own  lots  in  town,  but  there  is  no 
colored  man  here,  that  I  know  of,  who  is  considered  well  off. 
I  am  one  of  the  six  physicians  to  the  hospital,  and  I  do  not  think 
the  colored  people  send  any  greater  proportion  there  than  the 
whites." 


'\ 


M 


The  town  records  of  Mnldcn,  show  that  there  nre  in 
all  550  tax-payers  in  that  town,  of  whom  71  arc  colored. 
The  annual  value  of  the  property  on  which  they  were 
assessed,  in  1863,  was  ^1,253,  on  which  a  tax  of  29  per 
cent,  was  levied,  —  amounting  to  ^363.37  —  or  about 
;$f5.12  to  each  tax-payer.  The  total  tax  of  the  town  was 
;^4,916.37:  leaving  ^4,553.00  to  be  paid  by  the  whites 
—  or  an  average  of  ^9.52  to  each.  Assuming  the  popu- 
lation given  by  Mr.  Brush  to  bo  correct,  there  is  one 
white  tax-payer  to  three  and  one-third  of  the  white  in- 
habitants, and  one  colored  tax-payer  to  every  eleven  of 
the  colored  inhabitants. 

By  the  books  of  the  assessors  of  Chatham,  it  appears 
that  the  total  number  of  rate-payers  in  the  town  for  the 
year  1863  was  1,021,  of  whom  134  were  colored.  The 
total  amount  of  tax  collected  was  ;^10,179.79  ;  of  which 
the  134  colored  rate-payers  contributed  ^667.45 — or 
;$f4.98  apiece,  on  an  average.  The  887  white  rate-payers 
contributed  ;$f9,433.34— or  ;^10.63  apiece.  The  total 
population  of  Chatham  is  given  at  4,466,  and  the  colored 
population  estimated  at  1 ,300.  It  thus  appears  that  the 
white  tax-payers  are  about  one  to  every  three  and  a  half 
of  the  white  population,  and  the  colored  about  one  to 
every  thirteen  of  the  colored  population. 

By  the  books  of  the  town  clerk  of  Windsor,  it  appears 
that  there  are  152  colored  tax-payers  in  the  town,  and 
448  white.  The  total  annual  value  of  the  property 
for  which  the  colored  people  are  taxed  amounts  to  ;$f2,648 
— aiFording  a  tax  of  ^635.52  ;  which,  deducted  from  the 
total  tax,  (;^9,000,)  leaves  ;^8,364.48  to  be  paid  by  the 
whites.    Taking  the    colored   population  at  750,   this 


ii 


62 


shows  one  tax-payer  to  every  five  of  the  population ;  and 
estimating  the  white  population  at  3,250,  there  is  one 
white  tax-payer  to  every  seven  and  one-fourth  of  the 
white  population.  The  average  amount  paid  by  each 
colored  tax-payer  is  ;$f4.18;  by  each  white  tax-payer, 
|fl8.76. 

In  Toronto,  a  city  of  44,821  inhabitants,  of  whom 
about  900  are  colored,  the  books  of  the  tax  collectors 
show  the  following  amount  paid  by  colored  persons : — 

St.  John's  ward,  ;^665.24 ;  St.  Andrew's  ward,  ^549.55  • 
St.  Lawrence's  ward,  ^388 ;  St.  David's  ward,  ;^37.25 ;  St. 
Patrick's  ward,  p47.63;  St.  George's  ward,  p^  95 ;  St. 
James's  ward,  ;^261.57.     Total,  |f2,345.19. 

In  addition  to  this,  an  income  tax  is  assessed  on  all 
colored  persons  earning  over  ;^200  a  year. 

We  found  tha*;  only  fifteen  colored  persons  deposited 
money  in  the  Savings  Banks,  averaging  $\b  each.  They 
have  use  for  all  their  means,  and  do  not  hoard. 

But  the  sdrest  sign  of  their  thrift  is  the  appearance  of 
their  dwelling-houses,  farms,  stock,  tools  and  the  like. 
In  tliese,  moreover,  we  find  encouraging  signs  for  the 
negros,  because  they  show  that  he  feels  so  strongly  the 
family  instinct,  and  the  desire  to  possess  land  and  a 
dwelling-place. 

They  were  badly  advised  when  they  settled  in  suburbs 
by  themselves ;  and  the  wiser  ones  now  see  that  it  would 
be  better  for  them,  as  it  doubtless  would  for  the  whole 
community,  to  have  their  dwellings  scattered  among  those 
of  the  whites,  as  they  are  in  Hamilton  and  Toronto, 
rather  than  to  live  in  separate  quarters,  as  they  do  in  St. 
Catherines,  Chatham,  and"^  other  places. 


.68 


a 


But  whether  scattered  about,  or  collected  in  suburbs, 
the  dwellings  of  the  refugees  are  generally  superior  to 
those  of  the  Irish,  or  other  foreign  emigrants  of  the 
laboring  class.  Most  certainly  they  are  £ir  superior  to 
the  negro  huts  upon  slave  plantations,  wiiich  many  of 
them  formerly  inhabited.  Indeed,  in  poir.t  of  neatness 
of  premises,  they  are  superior  to  the  dwellings  of  the 
"  poor  whites,"  and  even  of  small  planters ;  a  doubtful 
compliment,  for  those  not  only  lack  out-buildings,  but  are 
usually  dirty  and  comfortless.  The  refugees  for  the  most 
part  live  in  small,  tidy  houses;  not  shanties,  with  old  hats 
sticking  out  of  broken  windows.  Their  habitations  are 
not  filthy  huts,  in  filthy  grounds,  but  comfortable  dwell- 
ings, in  good  repair.  Many  are  owned  by  the  occupants. 
They  have  little  gardens,  which  seem  well  cared  for.  This 
is  the  case  not  only  in  the  Colonies,  as  they  are  called, 
where  the  form  and  dimensions  of  the  houses  are  pre- 
scribed by  the  Company,  but  in  those  places  where  the 
refugees  are  entirely  free  to  live  as  they  choose.  In  the 
outskirts  of  Chatham  and  other  large  places  are  scores  of 
small  two-story  houses,  with  garden  lots,  owned  and  inhab- 
ited by  refugees  who  came  to  the  country  penniless.     -- i- 

We  visited  many  of  these  houses,  and  found  that 
the  decencies  of  life  are  well  observed,  and  that  the  com- 
forts of  life  are  not  wanting.  Cooking,  eating,  and  sleep- 
ing, are  not  done  in  the  same  room,  but  in  separate  ones. 
They  are  tidily  furnished  ;  and  some  have  carpets  on  the 
floors ;  and  curtains  at  the  windows.  It  is  pleasant  to 
see  the  feeble  dawnings  of  taste  in  rude  pictures,  and 
simple  attempts  at  ornament. 

Their  tables  are  decently  spread,  and  plentifully  sup- 


I**- 


64 

plied.  It  is  evident  that  they  spend  more  money  upon 
their  households  than  foreign  emigrants  do.  They  live 
better ;  and  they  clothe  their  children  better.  They  say, 
indeed,  that  this  is  the  reason  they  do  not  lay  up  so 
much  money  as  many  Irish  and  Germans  do. 
Says  Mrs.  Brown>  (colored,)  of  St.  Catherines : — 

"  I  have  been  here  fifteen  years,  and  we  have  paid  taxes  all 
the  time.  A  good  many  of  the  colored  people  own  their  own 
houses,  and  have  owned  them  ever  since  I  came  here.  When 
they  came  here,  of  course  they  were  destitute  and  had  nothing. 
Most  of  them  came  from  the  Slave  States.  Tliere  are  some 
here  wlio  are  doing  very  well.  The  reason  they  do  not  get  so 
mucli  property  as  the  Irish  is  because  the  Irish,  will  live  on 
little,  or  nothing.  They  live  like  pigs,  and  worse  thpi  pigs. 
The  colored  people  can't  live,  like  the  Irish,  on  potatoes  and 
salt.  Tliey  want  something  to  eat,  if  they  have  to  work.  An 
Irishman  will  take  potatoes  and  salt,  and  a  sup  of  milk,  and 
say  nothing  about  it ;  but  as  a  people,  we  are  used  to  living 
different  from  that,  and  can't  do  it." 


There  are  exceptions,  of  course ;  and  some  families, 
€Bpecially  new  comers,  live  crowded  up  in  one  room. 
They  cannot  do  otherwise  at  first ;  but  as  soon  as  they 
have  secured  the  necessaries  of  life,  they  begin  to  imitate 
the  older  settlers,  and  to  look  for  its  comforts,  and  then 
for  some  of  its  luxuries.  As  a  general  thing,  the  condi- 
tion of  the  house,  the  abundance  of  iurniture,  and  the 
presence  of  ornament,  denote  the  time  which  the  refuj^ 
has  enjoyed  freedom.  A  family  arrives  to-day,  without  a 
rag  of  clothing,  except  what  they  wear ;  and  without  a 
cent  of  money.  Of  course,  they  must  huddle  11  to  or> 
room ;  and  by  a  little  help  from  their  fellows,  Heed  and 
warm    themselves    as   tl>ey   best    can.     In   ten    y&*^, 


ii. 


that  same  family  will  probably  inhabit  a  decent  house, 
with  tidy  furniture,  and  a  plentiful  table.  Such  Las  been 
the  history  of  hundreds  and  thousands  of  Canadian 
refugees. 

It  is  difficult  to  collect  any  reliable  statistics  of  the 
property  of  the  colored  people  in  the  rural  districts. 
They  are  widely  scattered,  and  the  tax-rolls  do  not  dis- 
tinguish them  from  whites.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
they  are  generally  thriving ;  and  it  is  probable  that  they 
are  doing  even  better  than  those  who  are  more  closely 
congregated.  Some  have  small  gardens  near  large  towns, 
which  they  help  to  supply  with  vegetables.  On  ail 
market  days,  they  are  seen  going  into  town  with  their 
carts,  laden  with  garden  stuffs ;  the  man  generally  ac- 
companied by  his  wife  or  children  ;  often  both,  so  social 
are  they.     They  form  an  industrious  and  useful  chss. 

Another  class  is  formed  by  the  small  farmers,  who  a:^ 
more  widely  scattered.  Little  is  heard  about  them, 
except  when  the  prejudice  of  the  Irish,  or  other  rude 
people,  is  roused  to  passion  by  some  competition  of  inter- 
est, or  personal  collision,  and  then  there  is  a  talk  about 
the  "  nuisance  of  niggers." 

They  generally  own  the  land  which  they  occupy ;  and 
in  many  cases  they  have  paid  off  the  mortgages,  and  hold  a 
clear  fee.  Indeed,  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  is  the 
general  desire  to  own  land,  and  work  for  themselves. 

Now  and  then  is  seen  the  miserable  cabin  of  a  negro 
squatter,  who  evidently  sleeps  by  day,  and  prowls  by 
night.  This,  however,  is  the  exception.  Asa  general  rule, 
the  farms  of  negroes,  although  inferior  to  the  first-class 
farms  of  their  region  in  point  of  cultivation,  fences,  stock, 


'i 


M 


I 

V 


and  the  like,  are  quite  equal  to  the  average  of  second- 
class  farms.  So  the  colored  farmers,  though  not  equal  to 
the  first-class  white  farmers,  compare  very  well  with  the 
average  of  the  second-class.  They  have  not  the  capital, 
nor  the  intelligence,  nor  the  skill  of  the  best  farmers. 
But  they  are  not  lazy,  nor  stupid,  nor  thriftless ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  keep  their  lands  and  premises  in  tolera- 
ble condition;  and  they  support  themselves  without 
recourse  to  public  charity.  Such  men  are  valuable  mem- 
bers of  any  agricultural  community.  If  not  the  best, 
they  are  far  from  being  the  worst. 

We  rode  through  some  of  the  rural  districts,  and 
stopped  at  many  farm  houses.  The  most  remarkable 
thing  is  that  the  farm  houses  of  colored  people  are  seldom 
to  be  distinguished  from  those  of  whites  by  the  external 
appearance.  There  is  no  special  look  of  poverty  or 
slovenliness  about  them.  You  have  to  watch  for  the 
appearance  of  some  person  in  order  to  know,  by  his  color, 
whether  it  is  the  house  of  whites,  or  not. 

Usually,  the  condition  of  the  land  and  premises  about 
the  house,  indicates  the  length  of  time  which  the  refugee 
has  occupied  them.  Those  who  have  come  from  the 
United  States  within  a  year  or  two,  live  in  a  log  cabin,  in 
a  small  cleared  lot ;  around  which  is  the  forest  or  wild  land. 
Older  settlers  have  built  houses,  and  cleared  larger  fields ; 
and  they  keep  a  cow,  a  pig,  and  some  poultry.  A  few  have 
well-cleared  farms  and  good  outbuildings,  with  plenty  of 
farm  tools,  horses,  oxen,  cows,  and  the  like. 

The  following  notes,  made  on  a  day's  journey  through 
a  rural  district,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  people  whom 
we  met  upon  the  road : —  ^ 


67 


"  Tuesday,  September  15,  left  Amherstburg  for  Colchester. 
Before  passing  out  of  the  township  of  Maiden,  in  which  Am- 
herstburg is  situated,  stopped  at  the  farm  of  Mr.  Buckner — a 
colored  man.  The  place  is  under  good  cultivation  ;  has  a  num- 
ber of  fine  cattle  upon  it ;  and  every  thing  about  indicates  thrift 
and  care.  Further  on,  called  at  a  log  cabin  occupied  by  a 
colored  family,  who  had  rented  the  place.  The  women  only 
were  at  home,  who  said  they  were  getting  alung  very  well  with 
the  farm.  The  younger  of  the  two  women  was  uncommonly 
bright  and  intelligent,  and  both  of  them  kind  and  civil-spoken. 
At  another  house,  saw  an  old  lady,  who  said  she  was  from  Ken- 
tucky, where  she  had  been  free,  but  her  husband  was  a  slave. 
She  said  she  had  worked  harder  in  Canada,  trying  to  get  a  start, 
than  she  ever  did  in  Kentucky.  She  thought  the  climate  not 
so  healthy  as  that  of  Kentucky,  especially  for  children,  who 
took  colds,  and  were  somehow  carried  off,  she  said,  very  fast. 
She  declared  that  she  would  go  back  to  the  old  home  when 
freedom  was  established  in  the  States. 

Later,  stopped  at  a  wayside  tavern,  kept  by  French  people. 
The  woman  said  the  colored  people  were  good  neighbors,  except 
that  they  would  pilfer  small  things.  Met  a  man  on  horseback, 
who  said  the  blacks  were  poor  farmers,  and  did  not  do  so  w'ell 
as  the  most  inferior  class  of  whites.  They  did  not  know  any 
thing  about  farming,  he  said,  and  when  hired,  required  to  be 
told  every  fifteen  minutes  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  He 
thought  the  climate  prejudicial  to  children.  The  "  darkies," 
he  said,  were  charged  with  stealing  a  good  deal,  but  he  thought 
they  did  n't  steal  any  more  than  some  white  people.  lie 
thought  the  thefts  of  white  men  were  often  charged  upon  the 
blacks. 

Stopped  at  another  tavern,  kept  by  a  Frenchman,  who  said 
the  blacks  were  good-natured,  and  not  disposed  to  be  quarrel- 
some, but  given  to  pilfering.  When  asked  if  they  were  any 
worse  in  that  respect  than  the  whites,  he  said  perhaps  they 
were,  a  little,  but  it  was  hard  to  say  wliich  were  the  worse. 
Here  were  two  fugitives  from  Kentucky.  One  of  them  said  he 
had  been  in  the  place  six  years,  and  worked  out  as  a  laborer, 
getting  50  cents  a  day  for  common  work,  62|  cents  for  cutting 
corn,  and  $1  a  day  for  harvesting,  and  found.  He  said  he 
could  not  lay  by  any  thing,  having  a  wife  and  tliree  children  to 


68 


support.  He  was  anxious  to  have  a  place  of  his  own,  he  said, 
but  had  no  means  to  buy  one.  His  children  did  not  go  to 
school  at  all,  for  there  was  no  school  for  colored  children,  and 
tlie  whites  would  not  permit  his  children  to  go  to  their  school. 

Saw  a  little  cabin  near  the  road,  and  a  colored  man  and 
woman,  and  some  children  about.  On  being  interrogated,  the 
man  said  he  was  from  North  Carolina,  and  "  allowed  "  he  found 
Canada  a  hard  place  to  got  a  living  in.  He  would  be  glad,  he 
said,  to  get  back  to  the  States,  as  soon  as  he  could  be  free  there. 
Ihe  woman  said  she  was  from  Virginia,  and  that  the  prejudice 
was  ''  a  heap  "  stronger  in  Canada  than  it  was  at  homo.  The 
people,  she  said,  seemed  to  think  the  blacks  "  wern't  folks,  any 
way."     She  was  anxious  to  go  back.  ■       ' 

Met  a  farmer,  who  said  the  blacks  were  the  worst  people 
round.  They  wern't  good  for  any  thing,  unless  a  man  wanted 
them  to  work,  and  then,  if  they  were  looked  after  "  right  sharp," 
they  would  do  pretty  well.  He  did  n't  know  that  the  blacks 
8tole  any  more  than  the  whites,  but  thought  the  whites  often 
got  clear  by  saddling  their  sins  on  the  backs  of  the  "  darkies." 

Returning,  visited  and  inspected  the  colored  school  at 
Amherstburg.  Number  of  scholars  on  the  roll,  90  ;  average 
attendance,  60." 


Colonies. 

There  is  another  class  of  colored  people  to  whom  no 
reference  has  yet  been  made,  and  they  are  called  the 
"  Colonists." 

The  refugees  have  always  rejeived  from  the  govern- 
ment of  Canada  welcome  and  protection  ;  from  the  better 
class  of  people,  goodwill  and  justice ;  and  from  a  few, 
active  friendship  and  important  assistance.  These 
friends,  with  other  benevolent  persons  in  the  United 
States  and  Gxcat  Britain,  have,  at  various  periods,  got  up 
organizations  for  the  relief  and  the  aid  of  the  refugees. 
These  organizations   have  generally  taken  the  form  of 


i.'^ 


societies  for  procuring  tracts  of  land,  and  building  up 
communities  of  colored  peopliB,  called  colonies. 

The  principal  of  these  are  the  Elgin  settlement,  at 
Buxton,  the  Dawn  settlement,  at  Dresden,  and  the 
Refugees'  Home,  near  Windsor.  ' 

It  is  evident  that  the  attempts  of  organized  societies  to 
settle  the  ^olored  people  in  colonies,  by  themselves,  are 
of  less  interest  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  than 
are  the  attempts  of  refugees  to  maintain  themselves, 
without  any  aid. 

It  is  unknown  how  much  assistance  the  Colonists 
receive  from  the  money  power  of  societies  and  the  moral 
power  of  the  agents.  It  is  indeed  ungracious  to  criticise, 
where  the  efforts  have  been  so  generous  and  the  success  so 
satisfactory ;  but  there  are  various  objections  to  the  plans 
and  proceedings  of  the  colonizing  societies.  The  negroes, 
going  into  an  inhabited  and  civilized  country,  should  not 
be  systematically  congregated  in  communities.  Their 
natural  affinities  are  strong  enough  to  keep  up  all  desir- 
able relations  without  artificial  encouragement.  Experi- 
ence shows  that  they  do  best  when  scattered  about,  and 
forming  a  small  proportion  of  the  whole  community. 

Next,  the  discipline  of  the  colonies,  though  it  only 
subjects  the  negroes  to  what  is  considered  useful  appren- 
ticeship, does  prolong  a  dependence  which  amounts  almost 
to  servitude ;  and  does  not  convert  them  so  surely  into 
hardy,  self-reliant  men,  as  the  rude  struggle  with  actual 
difficulties,  which  they  themselves  have  to  face  and  to 
overcome,  instead  of  doing  so  through  an  agent. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  colonists  have  cost  to  somebody 
a  great  deal  of  money,  and  a  great  deal  of  effort ;  and  they 


II 

.1...' 


70 


have  not  succeeded  so  well  as  many  who  have  been 
thrown  entirely  upon  their  own  resources. 

While  commending  to  careful  attention  the  accounts 
given  by  Mr.  King  of  the  colony  at  Buxton,  it  is  just  to 
say  that  some  intelligent  persons,  friends  of  the  colored 
people,  and  familiar  with  their  condition,  believe  that  in 
none  of  the  colonies,  not  even  in  Buxtop,  do  they 
succeed  so  well,  upon  the  whole,  as  those  who  are  thrown 
entirely  upon  their  own  resources. 

Nevertheless,  these  colonies  are  worthy  of  more 
attention  than  we  were  able  to  give  them. 

We  visited  Buxton,  and  received  from  Mr.  King,  its 
founder  and  father,  an  account  of  its  history  and  con- 
dition, which  will  be  found,  in  a  condensed  form,  in  the 
Appendix.  He  reports,  and  evidently  believes  fully, 
that  the  colony  has  been  a  perfect  success. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  Buxton  is  certainly  a  very  inter- 
esting place.  Sixteen  years  ago,  it  was  a  wilderness. 
Now,  good  highways  are  laid  out  in  all  directions  through 
the  forest ;  and  by  their  side,  standing  back  thirty-three 
feet  from  the  road,  are  about  two  hundred  cottages,  all 
built  on  the  same  pattern,  all  looking  neat  and 
comfortable.  Arrund  each  one  is  a  cleared  space, 
of  several  acres,  which  is  well  cultivated.  The  fences 
are  in  good  order ;  the  barns  seem  well  filled ;  and  cattle, 
and  horses,  and  pigs,  and  poultry,  abound.  There  are 
signs  of  industry,  and  thrift,  and  comfort,  every  where ; 
signs  of  intemperance,  of  idleness,  of  want,  nowhere. 
There  is  no  tavern,  and  no  groggery ;  but  there  is  a  chapel 
and  school-house. 

Most  interesting  of  all  are  the  inhabitants.     Twenty 


71 


years  ago,  most  of  them  were  slaves,  who  owned  nothing, 
not  even  their  children.  Now  they  own  themselves ;  they 
own  their  houses  and  farms ;  and  they  have  their  wives 
and  children  about  them.  They  are  enfranchised  citizens 
of  a  government  which  protects  their  rights.  They  have 
the  great  essentials  for  human  happiness,  "  something  to 
love,  sometliing  to  do,  and  something  to  hope  for; "  and 
if  they  are  not  happy,  it  is  their  own  fault. 

The  present  condition  of  all  these  colonists,  as  com- 
pared with  their  former  one,  is  very  remarkable  ;  but  no 
limner  could  desire  a  stronger  contrast  for  two  pictures 
of  life  than  the  history  of  one  of  them  presents.  Seven- 
teen years  ago,  he  was  a  chattel ;  a  thing  to  be 
worked  and  flogged,  bought  and  sold,  like  a  horse.  He 
inhabited  a  wretched  hut,  with  a  woman  who  could 
not  be  his  lawful  wife,  and  with  dirty  children,  begot- 
ten by  them,  but  owned  by  another,  and  whom  they 
were  rearing  until  large  enough  for  the  owner  to  work 
or  to  sell.  Sad  as  was  his  actual  condition,  there  was 
nothing  to  be  hoped  for  in  the  future ;  and  every  thing 
to  be  feared. 

At  last,  in  des[)eration,  he  stole  away  by  night  from 
his  master's  plantation  in  Missouri;  and  stole,  besides 
himself,  something  for  food  and  covering,  which  he  bore 
on  his  back ;  and  also  his  little  boy,  whom  he  carried  in 
his  arms.  He  stole  also  the  woman,  and  the  other  chil- 
dren, who  followed  him,  trembling  with  fear  and  cold, 
through  the  darkness,  and  towards  the  north  star.  Sad 
procession !  but  only  one  of  the  many  which  have  been 
continually  moving,  by  night,  from  the  house  of  bondage, 
towards  the  land  of  freedom. 


I 


n 

The  flight  was  long,  and  painful,  and  dangerous.  Then 
followed  years  of  toil,  and  poverty,  and  anxiety.  Then 
came,  little  by  little,  success,  and  comfort,  and  hope.  And 
now,  the  scene  had  quite  changed ;  and  we  found  that  man 
standing  erect  and  bold,  upon  his  own  well-tilled  farm,  in 
front  of  his  own  house,  into  which  he  politely  invited  us. 
The  woman  had  become  his  lawful  wife,  the  proud  mistress 
of  a  tidy  liousehold.  The  dirty  toddling  chattels  had 
grown  to  be  comely  youth  and  maidens ;  and  the  little 
boy  whom  he  bore  away  in  his  arms,  was  a  fine,  manly 
fellow,  a  student  at  Knox  College,  but  now  spending  his 
vacation  at  home. 

The  man  took  a  natural  pride  in  his  prosperity ;  and 
dilated  upon  the  fertility  of  his  acres,  the  excellence  of 
his  stock,  and  the  fleetness  of  his  horses. 

When  the  pressing  invitation  to  stay  and  partake  his 
hospitality  was  declined,  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  time, 
he  said,  with  pardonable  vanity,  "  I  can  send  you  in  a 
wagon  of  my  oww,  and  behind  a  pair  of  my  own  horses, 
who  will  take  you  to  Chatham,  in  less  time  than  you  can 
get  there  with  your  team." 

Some  of  the  refugees  are 

Mechanics. 

There  are  plasterers  and  white-washers  in  all  the  large 
towns ;  and  there  are  also  a  few  excellent  blacksmiths, 
and  some  tolerable  carpenters.  We  found  one  man  run- 
ning a  windmill,  which  he  had  constructed  with  his  own 
hands;  and  which,  though  very  shaky  in  appearance, 
furnished  good  power. 

A  colored  man  is  said  by  many  to  be  the  best  gunsmith 
in  Canada  West.     He  certainly  makes  beautiful  pistols. 


The  most  interesting  sight  in  the  way  of  mechanical 
industry  was  in  Hamilton,  where  a  young  man  named 
Hill  had  established  himself.  He  is  a  fine,  athletic 
young  man,  who  must  have  come  of  good  stock,  for,  said 
he,  "The  whole  of  our  family  bouglit  ourselves." 

"  I  came  away  from  Virginia,"  continued  ho,  "  because  I 
didn't  Hke  the  condition  of  tilings  there.  I  didn't  like  to  be 
trod  upon.  A  colored  man  there,  let  him  be  free  born  or  not, 
must  carry  a  scrap  of  paper  in  his  pocket  to  show  that  he  is  free, 
or  be  cainiot  move.  Ho  is  not  really  free,  because  if  he  wants  to 
go  to  New  York,  for  instance,  he  must  get  a  white  man  to 
vouch  for  his  freedom. 

"  "We  are  manufacturers  of  tobacco,  and  there  are  merchants 
here  who  have  agreed  to  take  all  wo  can  manufacture,  and  to 
encourage  us  all  they  possibly  can.  I  came  from  the  South 
in  September,  1858,  and  my  family  followed  in  December. 
My  wife  had  to  get  a  voucher  for  her  freedom,  before  she  could 
come  on.  Sometimes  they  put  obstructions  in  the  way  '>f  free 
people  coming  away,  if  they  ore  so  disposed.  I  was  in  slavery 
until  I  was  about  eighteen  years  old.  There  were  four  uncles, 
myself  and  mother,  and  another  sister  of  my  uncles.  My 
uncles  paid  fifteen  hundred  dollars  apiece  for  themselves. 
They  bought  themselves  three  times.  They  got  cheated  out  of 
their  freedom  in  the  first  two  instances,  and  were  put  in  jail  at 
one  time,  and  were  going  to  be  sold  down  South,  right  away  ; 
but  parties  who  were  well  acquainted  with  us,,  and  knew  we 
had  made  desperate  struggles  for  our  freedom,  came  forward 
and  advanced  the  money,  and  took  us  out  of  jail,  and  put  us 
on  a  footing  so  tliat  we  could  go  ahead  and  earn  money  to  pay 
the  debt.  We  have  an  uncle  in  Pittsburg,  who  has  accumu- 
lated a  good  deal  of  property  since  he  obtained  his  freedom. 
My  uncles  bought  me  and  my  mother,  as  well  as  themselves.  I 
saw  a  great  deal  of  slavery ;  and  not  only  that,  but  my  parents 
had  to  undergo  a  great  deal  of  hardship  in  their  earlier  days. 
I  never  suffered  aay  particular  hardship  myself.  I  had  a 
grandfather  who  had  long  been  free,  and  when  the  boys  grow 
up,  he  would  take  them  and  learn  them  a  trade,  and  keep  them 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  traders ;  and  when  they  became  men 
10 


I 


I 

I 


) 


%■ 


and  women,  having  had  his  inJustry  instilled  into  them,  they 
would  be  uble  and  willing  to  work."  ^    •■ 

Wff  found  Mr.  Ilill,  and  his  three  colored  partners  in 
business,  working  very  earnestly  and  vigorously,  with 
brawny  arms,  in  a  tobacco  manufactory  of  their  own. 
They  had  recently  hired  a  building  at  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  a  year ;  made  most  of  the  wood-work  of  their 
machinery  themselves,  and  started  their  business.  By 
diligent  and  faithful  work,  they  soon  drew  custom,  and 
their  prospect  seemed  excellent.  They  employed  about 
twenty  hands,  among  whom  were  three  white  boys  ;  for, 
said  Hill,  "  hands  are  scarce,  you  see,  and  we  have  to 
take  ant/  we  can  get.  We  are  adding  to  our  numbers, 
and  as  soon  as  all  the  machinery  is  going,  we  expect  to 
have  fifty  workmen." 

The  sight  of  this  establishment  would  astonish  those 
who  think  negroes  too  stupid  for  business,  and  too 
lazy  for  work.  It  was  planned  and  carried  on  by  col- 
ored people,  with  money  of  their  own  earning.  It 
was  marked  by  the  order,  silence,  and  earnestness 
which  pervade  all  good  workshops.  There  was  no 
talking,  laughing,  or  looking  about.  Every  man  was 
busy  at  his  task.  Some  were  heaving  down  the  press 
with  ponderous  iron  levers ;  some  were  filling  boxes ; 
others  nailing  them  up ;  some  assorting  the  stock,  and 
others  rolling  it  into  plugs.  Each  seemed  to  have  the 
kind  of  work  best  suited  to  him ;  the  men  using  their 
brawny  arms  for  lifting  and  pulling ;  the  boys  their  tiny 
fingers  for  picking  and  sorting.  They  were  paid  in 
proportion  to  the  worth  of  their  work ;  and  each  worked 
«  with  a  will." 


75 

"  We  mean  to  succeed,"  said  Hill,  "  and  we  think  vre 
•hall ;  for  we  understand  the  business,  and  mean  to  do 
better  ^vork  than  others  do ;  and  merchants  will  find  that 
out  fast  enough."  The  calm  assurance  with  which  he 
spoke,  would  have  secured  good  names  on  the  back  of 
his  note,  if  he  had  been  unwise  enough  to  ask  credit. 

The  history  of  this  family  shows  the  effect  of  culture 
upon  good  stock.  Not  all  the  depressing  and  demoral- 
izing influences  of  a  slave  community  could  repress  their 
energy  or  prevent  their  success.  '' 

Another  class  is  that  of 


Sailors. 

The  good  will  of  "  old  salts  "  to  negroes  is  proverbial. 
In  the  old  merchant  packet,  the  steward  was  usually  a 
colored  man;  and  so  was  the  cook,  who  was  always 
dubbed  "  doctor."  His  "  caboose  "  was  a  favorite  resort  in 
dog-watch ;  and  he  was  the  life  of  the  forecastle.  The 
principal  objection  to  shipping  a  colored  man  was,  that 
he  was  apt  to  charm  some  Desdemona,  who  would  insist 
upon  marrying  him  and  keeping  him  in  England ;  leav- 
ing the  ship  to  make  the  homeward  passage  minus 
steward,  or  "doctor;"  unless,  perchance,  some  former 
victim  had  become  disenchanted,  and  inclined  to  fly  to 
America  for  freedom. 

Even  now,  in  the  navy,  your  "  true  blue "  will  mess 
with  the  negro,  and  rather  likes  his  company.  The 
fresh-water  sailors  on  the  lakes  and  rivers  seem  to 
share  the  liberality  of  "  blue-water  salts,"  and  not  to 
object  to  "  colored  company,"  unless,  indeed,  there  is  too 
much  of  it. 


'iEi- 


It  is  curious  to  observe  how  here,  as  elsewhere,  the 
individual  negro  awakens  sympathy  as  a  fellow  man ;  that 
one,  in  a  "  mess,"  is  a  boon  companion ;  but  that  two  or 
three,  excite  antagonism  and  awaken  prejudice.  The  root 
of  the  evil  is  not  in  any  natural  antipathy,  but  that "  busi- 
ness "  is  conducted  in  the  spirit  of  antagonism  instead  of 
co-operation.  «. 

There  are  many  of  the  refugees  who  "  go  down  to  the 
lakes  in  ships,  tiiat  do  business  on  the  great  waters ;"  and 
these  fresh-water  sailors  earn  good  wages  in  summer. 

No  opportunity  presented  of  seeing  this  class,  but  the 
general  report  about  them  was,  that  they  "  loafed  round 
in  winter,  and  spent  all  their  earnings."  This  is  proof 
that  they  do  wofk  and  earn  money ;  and  if  they  spend  it 
just  as  other  taip.  do,  the  fact  only  proves  that  the  voca- 
tion of  sailor  affects  blacks  as  it  does  whites. 

Captain  Avcrill,  of  Maiden,  says : —  " 

"  Colored  men  do  very  well  for  deck  hands,  and  firemen,  and 
the  like  of  tiiat.  They  are  the  best  men  we  have.  We  have  to 
pay  them  the  same  as  white  men,  and  I  prefer  them  to  seme 
portion  of  our  citizens.  We  have  to  keep  them  separate  from 
white  sailors.  We  cannot  mix  them.  We  always  either  carr) 
a  bl  iCk  crew  or  a  wliite  one.  We  will  take  a  crew  of  firemen, 
darkies,  or  a  crew  of  deck  hands,  darkies.  They  are  fully  as 
good  as  white  sailors,  in  regard  to  temperance.  We  can  put 
more  confidence  in  them  than  we  can  in  white  men.  The 
colored  men  are  not  much  inclined  to  lay  up  their  wages. 
They  spend  their  money  just  about  as  fast  as  they  go 
along.  Some  of  them  will  stay  about  a  boat  all  summer 
long,  and  not  take  up  any  wages  uf  consequence ;  and  when 
you  can  get  a  man  like  that  he  is  very  valuable,  because  ho  will 
influence  tho  others.  .  They  don't  get  to  places  of  confidence. 
We  never  make  them  mates.    None  of  them  own  any  crafts." 

?!ore  evidence  might  be  cited ;  but  enough  has  been 


:.i 


-        ■    .  '      f0  ■ 

given  to  show  that  with  freedom,  awJ  the  ordinary 
motives  for  industry,  the  colored  people  will  be  diligent 
and  thrifty.  >.' 

It  is  plain^  however,  that  upon  the  whole,  the  physical 
organization  of  a  mixed  breed  like  this  one,  does  not  a<lapt 
men  to  hard  and  continuous  muscular  labor ;  and  that 
they  will  naturally  seek  and  find  in  the  industrious 
ranks  of  society,  certain  places  not  requiring  such  labor, 
which  they  can  fill  profitably  to  the  community  and  to 
themselves. 


Section  4. 
Intellectual  and  Moral  Condition. 

An  unusually  large  proportion  of  the  colored  popula- 
tion of  Canada  is  made  up  of  adults.  Those  from  the 
Free  States  had  very  little  schooling  in  youth;  those 
from  the  Slave  States,  none  at  all.  Considering  these 
things,  it  is  rather  remarkable  that  so  many  can  now 
read  and  write.  Moreover,  they  show  their  esteem  for 
instruction  by  their  desire  to  obtain  it  for  their  chil- 
dren. They  all  wish  to  have  their  children  go  to  school, 
and  they  send  them  all  the  time  that  they  can  be  spared. 

Canada  West  has  adopted  a  good  system  of  public 
instruction,  which  is  well  administered.  The  common 
schools,  though  inferior  to  those  of  several  of  the  States 
of  the  United  States,  are  good.  Colored  children  are 
admitted  to  them  in  most  places ;  and  where  a  separate 
school  is  opened  for  them,  it  is  as  well  provided  by  gov- 
ernment with  teachers  and  apparatus  as  the  other  schools 
are.  Notwithstanding  the  growing  prejudice  against 
blacks,  the  authorities  evidently  mean  to  deal  justly  by 


Hi 


them  in  regard  to  instruction;  and  even  those  who 
advocate  separate  schools,  promise  that  they  shall  be 
eq^ual  to  white  schools.  '    > 

We  had  no  adequate  means  of  ascertaining  exactly 
how  many  colored  scholars  there  are  in  proportion  to 
the  whole  population;  but  conclude,  from  what  data 
could  be  had,  that  it  is  almost  as  large  as  the  proportion 
of  white  scholars  to  the  white  population.  In  Chatham, 
for  instance,  there  is  one  white  scholar  to  11 1-  of  the 
white  population;  and  one  colored  scholar  to  12  of  the 
colored  population.  The  average  daily  attendance  of 
scholars  in  the  colored  schools  is  seventy  per  cent. ;  the 
average  attendance  in  the  white  schools  is  a  fraction 
over  seventy.  Now,  in  Chatham,  the  colored  people  are 
quite  as  unfavorably  situated  as  in  any  other  places ;  and 
considering  that  they  are  all  of  the  industrious  class, 
who  need  the  services  of  their  children,  the  number  of 
scholars  they  send,  and  their  average  of  daily  attendance, 
are  high.  It  is  generally  stated,  however,  that  the 
black  children  do  not  attend  school  so  many  years  as  the 
white  do ;  and  this  is  doubtless  for  the  reason  above 
assigned,  that  their  parents  more  generally  have  need  of 
their  services  at  home. 

The  colored  children,  in  the  mixed  schools,  do  not 
differ  in  their  general  appearance  and  behavior  from 
their  white  comrades.  They  are  usually  clean  and 
decently  clad.  They  look  quite  as  bright  as  the  whites  ; 
and  are  perhaps  a  little  more  mirthful  and  roguish.  The 
association  is  manifestly  beneficial  to  the  colored  chil- 
dren. Says  Mr.  McCuUum,  principal  of  the  high  school 
at  Hamilton, — 


79 


"  I  am  impressed  with  the  idea  that  colored  persons  brought 
up  among  whites  look  better  than  others :  tlieir  rouglier, 
harsher  features  disappear.  I  think  that  colored  children, 
brought  up  among  white  people,  look  better  than  their  parents." 

The   appearance,   and    the   acquirements   of    colored 
children  in   the  separate   schools,  are   less   satisfactory 
They  do  not  look  so  tidy ;  and  are  not  so  well  ordered  as 
children  of  the  same  class  in  the  white  schools.     More- 
over, they  are  more  backward  in  their  studies. 

The  colored  people  were  unwise  in  asking  for  separate 
schools  at  all ;  and  those  who  asked  for  colored  teachers 
made  a  further  mistake ;  because  the  chance  of  getting  a 
good  one  was  small,  the  range  of  selection  being  very 
limited.  Had  they  merely  required  good  teachers,  irre- 
spective of  color,  they  would  have  had  more  men  like 
Mr.  Sinclair,  to  elevate,  as  well  as  teach  their  children. 

They  must,  in  justice  to  the  whites,  acknowledge  that 
in  the  mitter  of  separate  schools  and  of  separate 
churches,  thoy  themselves  have  yielded  to  the  natural 
affinities  of  race  which  lie  at  the  root  of  those  very 
prejudi(M's  about  which  they  complain  so  much.  They 
must  acknowledge,  moreover,  that  the  authorities  en- 
deavor to  provide  as  good  instruction  for  their  ohildren 
as  for  white  children. 

With  rcgaid  to  the  comparative  mental  capacity  of  col- 
ored and  white  children,  teachers  differ  in  opinion.  Dr. 
McCaul,  pri^sidcnt  of  the  university  at  Toronto,  bears  very 
strong  testimony  in  favor  of  the  first.     He  says: — 

"  I  can  give  you  my  own  experience  in  regard  to  the  capacity 
of  the  blacks.  There  was  o.  boy  here  from  Upper  Canada  by 
the  name  of  Galigo,  who,  I  think  I  aui  safe  in  saying,  was  a 


r 


80 


thorough  black.  He  did  exceedingly  well,  and  manifested  a 
capacity  equal  to  any  white  boy  of  his  standing.  We  had  a 
mulatto  here  this  last  examination,  who  took  the  '  double-first ' 
in  both  classics  and  mathematics.  He  has  very  great  ability. 
There  are  very  few  whites  who  can  do  what  he  did.  It  would 
be  considered  a  rare  thing  to  have  a  '  double-first '  got  once  in 
five  years,  and  that  amongst  the  highest  '  honor-men.'  The 
'  honor-meUj'  as  we  call  them,  are  in  the  ratio  of  one  to  thirty. 
There  was  very  great  competition,  but  he  carried  off  the  prize. 
He  expected  to  come  out  first  of  all  in  mathematics,  but  he 
failed  in  that ;  but  he  came  out  in  the  first  class  of  honors, 
in  both  classics  and  mathematics,  as  no  one  else  in  the  year 
did ;  and  I  do  not  think  there  have  been  more  than  three 
instances  iv.  which  it  has  been  done  since  the  university  was 
opened,  twenty  years  ago.  Laferty  is  the  young  man's  name. 
His  father  was  a  man  of  very  humble  capacity,  and,  I  think,  a 
full  black.  There  was  another  man  who  was  a  student  here, 
who  did  very  well  in  medicine — Dr.  Augusta.  There  was 
another  medical  student  here, — Mr.  Abbott, — who  got  along 
very  well.  I  do  not  hesitate  at  all  to  say,  with  regard  to  Mr. 
Laferty,  that  he  is  fully  equal  to  any  white  man,  and,  as  J 
mentioned  to  you,  far  superior  to  the  average  of  them.  It  was 
a  great  subject  of  astonishment  to  some  of  our  Kentucky 
friends,  who  came  over  here  last  year  in  October,  when  they 
saw  this  mulatto  get  the  first  prize  for  Greek  verse,  which  he 
had  to  recite  ;  and  he  was  the  crack  man  of  the  day,  all  the 
others  listening  to  him  with  great  pleasure." 

Mr.  McCullum,  of  Hamilton,  says : — 

"  I  have  spoken  to  the  teachers  at  the  school,  in  reference  to 
tlie  colored  pupils,  and  they  all  coincide  in  the  opinion  I  have 
given,  that  they  are  fully  equal  to  the  others,  in  mental  attain- 
ments, and  in  their  conduct  and  discipline  at  school." 

Mr.  Sinclair,  principal  of  the  school  at  Chatham, 
says : — 


"  On  the  whole,  I  think  the  colored  children  learn  about  the 
same  as  whites.     The  only  difference  I  have  observed  is  this — 


that  in  one  week  they  learn  faster  than  the  whites  ;  but  then, 
they  require  frequent  reviews,  so  that,  on  the  whole,  it  is  about 
the  same." 

'      -  i 

This  is  the  testimony  of  enlightened  men,  who  have 
given  attention  to  the  matter ;  but  they  are  men  of  liberal 
and  generous  natures,  whose  sympathies  are  with  the 
colored  people,  because  of  their  need  of  them.  Other 
teachers  think  less  favorably  of  the  mental  capacity  of 
colored  children. 

But,  however  it  may  be  in  schools,  and  in  regard  to 
the  power  of  acquiring  knowledge,  the  theory  of  the 
menial  equality  of  colored  and  white  people  does  not 
seem  to  be  confirmed  by  the  condition  of  the  refugees  in 
Canada.  Some  of  them  have  been  there  a  long  time ; 
and  a  young  generation  is  growing  up.  They  do  not 
lack  arnbition ;  and  yet  they  do  not  rise  to  stations 
requiring  mental  vigor.  Great  allowance,  indeed,  is 
to  be  made  for  the  bitter  prejudice  against  them,  and  for 
other  disadvantages.  But  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be 
considered  that  when  they  are  dispersed  among  the 
whites,  the  prejudice  is  not  called  out.  And  then  it 
must  be  admitted,  that  among  people  of  culture,  there 
is  a  disposition  to  give  them  fair  play.  Nay,  such  people 
would  probably  regard  a  yoimg  man  of  real  force  of 
character  with  favor,  on  accouiit  of  his  being  colored  ;  and 
would  help  him  on.  Two  or  three  of  this  kind  have  been 
so  treated ;  but  all  must  admit  that  the  number  of  supe- 
rior young  men  who  have  appeared  is  very  small  indeed. 

The  colored  people  of  Canada,  like  those  of  the  Free 
States,  have  sharp  eyes  and  ears.     They  are  quick  of 
preception;    very  imitative;    and  they  rapidly  become 
11 


M 


82 


1 


"* 
<-«*• 


intelligent.  But  they  are  rather  knowing,  than  thinking 
people.  They  occupy  useful  stations  in  life ;  but  such  as 
require  quick  perceptions,  rather  than  s.trong  sense. 

We  have  not  the  data  for  the  final  solution  of  the 
question  of  mental  equality.  Time  alone  can  supply 
them.  Not  only  must  all  the  depressing  influences  of 
slavery  be  removed  from  one  generation,  but  there  must 
be  several  generations  of  free  men  ;  of  men  free  from  the 
consequences  of  slavery,  and  free  from  social  ostracism, 
before  that  question  can  be  determined.  But,  admitting 
that  the  colored  breed  has  physical  vitality  enough  to 
persist  and  to  maintain  itself  in  the  competition  of  com- 
ing generations  for  subsistence,  it  is  not  certain  that  its 
members  will  have  moral  force  enough  to  recovfer  from 
the  depression  which  so  long  existence  as  social  pariahs 
has  produced.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  have  now,,  for  the 
solution  of  the  question,  only  limited  observation  and 
a  priori  inferences.  These  seem  to  point  to  the  mental 
inferiority  of  the  half  breeds,  if  not  of  the  negroes. 

An  opinion  is  held  by  some  teachers  of  colored  schools 
in  the  Northern  States,  that  their  scholars  advance  as  fast 
as  whites  in  all  the  elementary  studies,  but  fail  when 
they  come  to  studies  which  tax  the  higher  mental  powers, 
or  the  reasoning  and  combining  faculties.  That  is,  that 
the  perceptive  faculties,  which  take  cognizance  of  things, 
and  of  their  names  and  qualities,  are  as  keen  in  the 
blacks  ae  in  the  whites  ;  but  that  the  reasoning  faculties, 
which  generalise  from  the  knowledge  gatliered  by  the 
perceptive  faculties,  are  not. 

This  is  probably  true  with  regard  to  pure  blacks,  if 
not  to  mulattoes  also.     Now,  the  perceptive  faculties  are 


it 


m 


nearly  allied  to  the  instincts,  which  men  share  equally 
Avith  other  animals ;  while  the  reasoning  and  reflecting 
faculties  are  superior  to  them,  and  are  midway  between 
that  animal  nature  common  to  men  and  brutes  which 
holds  us  down  to  the  earth  with  them,  and  those  higher 
qualities,  or  peculiarly  human  attributes,  which  lift  us 
towards  heaven.  Superior  activity  of  the  lower  or  per- 
ceptive faculties  may  arise  from  greater  development  of 
that  part -of  the  animal  organization  which  keeps  us  in 
relation  with  the  organisms  next  below  us  in  the  scale  of 
creation. 

But  this  question  of  mental  equality  between  pure 
blacks  and  whites  is  an  ethnological  one — a  question 
about  races ;  while  we  have  only  to  do  with  a  breed, — 
that  of  raulattoes.  This  breed  in  its  mental  organization 
seems  to  be  partially  emasculated.  It  has  less  of  the 
elements  out  of  which  grow  ferocity,  but  also  less  of 
energy  and  virilty,  than  pure  blacks  or  whites. 

Mulattoes  seem  to  be,  among  races,  what  eunuchs  are 
among  individual  men.  They  have  less  animalization 
than  blacks,  and  less  spiritualization  than  whites. 

In  concluding  this  part  of  the  subject,  a  statement 
may  be  made,  which,  standing  alone,  is  worth  nothing ; 
but  which,  if  supported  by  wider  observation,  may  be  of 
some  value.  The  colored  persons  met  with  in  Canada,  who 
had  most  force  of  character,  were  either  nearly  negroes, 
or  nearly  whites ;  that  is,  they  bore  strongly  marked 
characteristics  of  one  or  the  other  race ;  not  merely  in 
the  color  of  the  skin,  but  in  the  character  of  other  parts 
of  their  organization. 


%    ■ 

'""  Moral  Condition — Criminal  Statistics.        .' 

It  is  difficult  to  convey  a  correct  idea  of  the  mental 
status  of  the  refugees  ;  but  still  more  to  give  satisfactory 
evidence  concerning  their  moral  condition.  Bare  statis- 
tics are  worth  little.  School  returns  have  to  be  taken 
with  great  allowance ;  prison  returns  with  still  greater. 
With  proper  allowances,  criminal  statistics  are  worth 
something. 

The  Provincial  Penitentiary  at  Kingston  has  been 
established  twenty-seven  years ;  during  which  time  375 
colored  persons  have  been  committed,  for  the  following 
offences: — 

Arson,  5  ;  murder,  9  ;  rape,  or  assault  with  intent,  14; 
felony,  127;  larceny,  220  Of  these,  286  "vere  born  in 
the  United  States;  81  in  British  America;  and  8  in  the 
West  Indies. 

At  the  time  of  committal,  fifty-seven  of  the  convicts 
were  between  10  and  20  x-^ars  of  age;  one  hundred  and 
seventy  were  between  20  and  30 ;  ninety-one  were 
between  30  and  40 ;  thirty-six  were  between  40  and  50  ; 
sixteen  were  between  50  and  60 ;  and  five  were  between 
60  and  70. 

Dr.  Litchfield,  the  very  obliging  Superintendent  of 
the  Asylum  for  Criminal  Lunatics,  connected  with  the 
Penitentiary,  says: — 


"  I  cannot  draw  any  reliable  inference  from  the  records,  in 
respect  to  the  comparative  criminality  of  the  white,  red,  or 
black  man  ;  because  the  census  returns  iu  regard  to  the  African 
and  Indian  races,  in  the  Province,  at  the  time  the  last  census 
was  taken,  are  so  manifestly  wrong,  that  no  correct  calculation 
can  be  based  upon  them."         ^ 


6"* 


There  are,  at  this  time,  64  colored  convicts  in  the  Pen- 
itentiary. Taking  the  colored  population  as  set  down  in 
the  census  of  1860,  this  gives  one  convict  to  every  191 
inhabitants.  But  estimating  the  colored  people  at  lt),000, 
(and  this  is  a  very  low  estimate,)  it  gives  only  one  in  234f . 
1  With  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the  colored  convicts. 
Dr.  Litchfield  says : —         r      ;       t  T  i?"' 

"  Tl>e  negro,  as  met  with  in  Canada,  is  uniformly  docile, 
courteous,  kindly,  and  submissive  ;  and  ho  exhibits  those  qual- 
ities in  a  marked  degree,  in  the  Penitentiary." 

This  is  corroborated  by  the  County  Jailers,  who  gen- 
erally say  that  colored  prisoners  are  more  docile  than 
white. 

Statistics  of  minor  offences,  collected  from  the  jail 
returns,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 

Any  inferences  from  them  as  to  the  moral  status  of 
the  colored  people  should  be  made  with  due  allowance 
for  the  fact  that  a  large  portion  of  them  arrived  iu  Canada 
utterly  destitute,  and  also  for  the  significant  fact  stated 
in  the  testimony  of  the  Hon.  George  Brown,  M.  P.  Said 
he: — 

"  I  regard  the  colored  people  of  Canada  as  a  useful  class  of 
citizens.  All  their  vices  grow  out  of  their  former  condition  of 
slavery.  Thieving  is  natural  to  them.  But  one  thing  you 
must  bear  in  mind  ;  it  will  not  do  to  trust  the  criminac  talistics, 
for  if  a  man  with  a  black  face  is  put  into  the  boXy  it  is  almost 
tantamount  to  conviction." 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  most  common  offences  of 
which  the  colored  people  are  convicted  are  not  those  of 
violence,  implying  ferocity  and  passion, — not  crimes 
against  the  person,  but  against  property. 


In  public  opinion,  they  lack  that  form  of  honesty 
which  those  who  consider  money  as  the  chief  end  of  man, 
regard  as  highest  in  the  scale  of  virtues.  It  is  curious 
to  observe  how  vehemently  the  refugees  are  denounced  in 
Canada,  as  the  slaves  are  in  the  United  States,  for  their 
utter  insensibility  to  the  right  of  property.  Religious 
people,  north  and  south,  marvel  that  even  converted 
and  pious  slaves  do  not  abstain  from  picking  and  stealing ; 
as  if  those  who  never  in  their  lives  knew  anything  of 
meum^  should  suddenly  know  all  about  tuum. 

We  boast  of  our  white  national  virtues,  and  acknowl- 
edge that  they  grow  out  of  freedom,  but  forget  that  the 
vices  of  slaves  grow  out  of  slavery ;  or,  as  has  been  better 
said — "  The  customs  of  a  free  people  are  part  of  their 
freedom ;  those  of  an  enslaved  people  are  part  of  their 
slavery."*  Men  going  from  slavery  to  freedom  cannot 
change  their  habits  as  they  change  their  garments.  And  it 
is  to  be  remembered  that  the  offences  against  property, 
with  which  by  public  voice  the  refugees  are  charged,  are 
those  so  common  in  the  south,  and  which  grow  directly 
out  of  slavery. 

Respect  of  property  is  grafted  by  civilization  upon 
natur-'l  morality.  It  needs  culture,  and  is  of  slow  growth. 
The  lowest  savages  respect  no  kinds  of  property ;  and 
the  highest  but  few.  Now,  the  supposed  interest  of  the 
slaveholder  has  been  to  keep  the  negroes  as  near  the 
savage  state  as  is  consistent  with  the  profitable  culture  of 


*  Les  coutumes  d'un  peuple  esclave  sont  une  partie  de  leur  escla>  .ge ; 
celles  d'un  peuple  libre  sont  une  partie  de  leur  liberie. — Montesquieu,  Esprit 
des  Lois,  Liv.  XIX.  Chap.  27. 


87 


;tly 


cotton  and  sugar.     He  wants  the  negro  not  to  steal,  for- 
getting that  a  man  must  own  something  in  order  to  have 
any  adequate  conception  of  what  theft  means, 
if  The  immorality  of  theft,  however,  has  its  degrees ;  and 
these  seem  to  depenc'  upon  the  natural  right  of  owner- 
ship, rather  than  upon  the  conventional  or  legal  right. 
The  right  of  a  man  to  his  life  and  freedom,  and  to  his 
young  children,  are  manifest  and  indisputable,  for  they 
depend  not  upon  human  laws.     No  man  can  be  intelli- 
gent enough   to   cultivate  cotton,  without  feeling  this 
instinctively,  whether  he  forms  a  clear  conception  of  it 
or  not.     He  must  feel,  too,  that  the  rights  of  property 
grow  less  sacred  as  they  affect  the  owner  less  closely — as 
right  in  clothes,  wares,  horses,  dogs,  and  the  like  ;   until 
they  become  very  doubtful  in  fish  and  game,  and  things 
fera  natura.     The  owner,  in  his  daily  practice,  violates 
the  most  sacred  right  of  property,  b'y  taking  the  slave's 
labor  without  pay ;  and  the  slave  imitates  him  by  vio- 
lating the  less  sacred  right  of  property,  in  stealing  what 
he  can  lay  his  hands  on.     The  fact  that  there  is  any 
honesty  at  all  left  among    '(em  is  proof  of  the  natural 
strength  of  their  moral  nature. 

Tlie  skves  come  to  Canada  with  these  habits,  which 
seem  to  have  been  made  a  part  of  their  very  nature  by 
generations  of  servitude  ;  and  yet  they  rapidly  lay  them 
aside.  Being  free  from  the  debasing  influences  of  fear, 
and  '*>  the  midst  of  a  community  where  the  rights  of 
property  are  ranked  among  the  most  sacred  things,  as 
soon  as  they  earn  anything  honestly,  they  feel  the  pride 
of  ownership,  and  learn  to  respect  the  rights  of  others. 


BMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


■i«  iiii   122 


■lUU 

liii  1^  ^ 


PhotDgrapliic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STRUT 

WmSTM.N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)872-4!(03 


\ 


4 


y 


^ 
^ 


88 


Religion. 

It  has  been  well  said,  that  the  slaveholders  used  the 
very  virtues  of  the  negroes  to  hold  them  in  slavery.  The 
master,  like  the  devil,  knew  how  to  quote  scripture  for 
wicked  purposes;  and  moulded  the  religious  belief  of 
the  negroes  into  such  form  that  he  could  appeal  to  it  to 
compass  his  own  ends,  in  violation  of  the  spirit  of  true 
religion.  ^    i? 

It  is  among  the  proofs  of  the  strong  religious  nature  of 
the  negroes,  that  their  faith  endures  shocks  which  would 
upset  that  of  ordinary  men.  Slaves  of  pious,  prayerful 
masters,  have  grown  to  manhood  in  the  firm  belief  that 
it  would  be  a  sin  against  Heaven  to  leave  the  service  of  a 
master  who  exacts  life-long  toil  without  reward,  and  who 
would  sell  one  of  their  children  as  he  would  sell  a  cow 
or  a  pig,  when  he  wanted  cash. 

A  touching  instance  of  the  struggle  between  what  he 
believed  to  be  a  religious  obligation  to  serve  his  mistress 
and  a  natural  longing  for  freedom,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
narrative  of  Thomas  Johnson,  a  Canadian  refugee.  He 
was  so  intelligent  and  faithful,  that  he  was  entrusted  with 
the  management  of  the  farm.  He  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  had  a  right  to  free  his  wife  and  three  youngest 
children,  and  therefore  got  them  off  to  Canada.  He, 
himself,  remained  more  than  a  year,  and  performed  what 
he  believed  to  be  his  duty  to  his  mistress.  Her  friends, 
however,  having  an  eye  to  their  own  future  property, 
feared  that  if  she  should  die,  the  slave  would  prefer  to 
go  and  work  for  his  own  wife  and  children,  rather  than 
for  them,  and  so  they  persuaded  her  to  convert  him  into 
cash.  Finding  he  was  to  be  sold, "  down  south,"  he  escaped 


89 


across  the  river  into  Ohio.  But  his  conscience  trouhled 
him.  He  could  not  bear  the  thought  that  he,  who  had 
been  trusted  on  account  of  his  honesty,  should  become  a 
mean  runaway;  and  he  sent  word  that  if  instead  of  being 
"  sent  south,"  he  could  be  sold  to  a  certain  man  in  the 
neighborhood,  whom  he  thought  to  be  humane,  he  would 
go  back  and  finish  his  earthly  pilgrimage  in  bondage. 
While  waiting  for  the  reply,  he  thought  he  would  visit 
his  wife  and  children,  and  take  a  last  farewell ;  but  when 
he  found  himself  in  Canada  and  really  a  free  man,  the 
natural  bonds  of  affection  proved  stronger  than  those  of 
a  perverted  religious  sense,  and  kept  him  there,  to  dis- 
charge his  duties  to  himself  and  his  family.* 

There  are  many  touching  instances  of  slaves  who  had 
borne  good  religious  and  moral  characters,  when  forced 
by  some  gross  outrage  to  run  away,  throwing  themselves 
on  the  ground,  and  bemoaning  their  downfall,  as  they 
supposed — "  I,  an  elder, — I,  whom  master  and  everybody 
trusted, — I  to  become  a  mean  runaway !  "  &c.       ;-  ■  i  am 


.;>;;,'  r-' 


:m 


'Mix  I  !i 


Churches,  8fc. 

Whenever  a  few  refugees  congregate  together,  the  first 
thing  they  do  in  common  is  to  provide  for  public  wor- 
ship. They  have  a  passion  for  a  church.  Not  merely  a 
church  spiritual,  but  a  church  material ;  and  it  must  be 
good-looking,  too.  Wherever  there  are  a  few  families 
gathered  together,  they  get  up  a  meeting-house  of  some 
kind.  When  they  increase  in  numbers,  they  split  up 
into  various  sects,  and  each  sect  must  have  a  mjeeting- 
house  of  its  own.    They  do  not  wait  for  the  first  one  to 


i'^K/^iS- 


•  Draw,  pp.  379,  380, 381. 


,,i:'fiA  ;»^ia| 


12 


90 


become  full ;  for  none  of  them  do  become  full,  because  the 
people  subdivide,  and  swarm  off.  They  expend  an  undue 
and  unreasonable  part  of  their  time  and  substance  in 
building  churches ;  and  their  zeal  leads  them  to  go  beg- 
ging for  aid  in  the  work.  Their  ministers  have  canvassed 
the  United  States  and  England,  contribution  box  in 
hand ;  and  by  appealing  to  sectarian  zeal,  got  the  means 
of  building  up  tabernacles  of  brick  or  wood,  trusting  to 
their  own  zeal  for  gathering  a  congregation.  All  this 
shows  that  the  religious  nature  of  these  people,  being  but 
imperfectly  developed,  needs  to  be  exhibited  in  the 
concrete  fDrm.         &•  ■^■'  m..  ^^rr 5?>  ;.!;'{..•  j-^v;  ■■^^  h\i  ■ 

They  improve,  however,  in  this  respect,  under  free- 
dom, and  manifest  their  religious  instinct  under  higher 
forms  than  slaves  do.  It  is  a  common  remark  that  the 
religion  of  the  negroes  in  slavery  is  purely  emotional; 
that  it  does  not  prevent  sinful  lives ;  and  that  the  most 
pious  of  them  lie  and  steal  without  hesitation  and  with- 
out remorse.  A  little  reflection  will  show  that  it  could 
not  well  be  otherwise.  The  religious  instinct  is  certainly 
very  strong  in  the  negro,  and  it  must  have  gratification 
in  some  outward  manifestation ;  either  in  the  lowest  form 
of  adoration  of  God,  to  secure  personal  preference  with 
Him,  here  and  hereafter;  or  in  duty  to  God,  shown  by 
obeying  the  natural  laws  of  conscience  and  morality  as 
His  laws ;  or  in  love  to  God,  shown  in  good  works  and 
love  to  man.  In  which  of  these  forms  the  religious 
instinct  shall  be  manifested,  whether  the  lowest  or  the 
highest,  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  degree  of  inward 
cultui'e,  and  the  nature  of  putward  influences.  The  mas- 
ters know  that  the  religious  Instinct  of  the  slave  cannot 


91 


be  suppressed,  and  they  beck  to  divert  its  manifestation 
in  such  way  as  will  ler*'it  affect  the  market  value  of  the 
man.  They  withhold  culture,  stifle  thought,  and  feed 
the  religious  appetite  with  dry  dogmas  and  creeds.  Of 
course,  the  instinct,  so  confined,  can  manifest  itself  only 
in  the  lowest  form ;  anri  the  slave's  religion  must  be  such 
as  touches  him  and  his  personal  welfare,  here  and  here* 
after.  His  God  must  be  personal  and  mighty ;  but  not 
necessarily  spiritual  and  holy.  His  heaven  must  be 
material  and  gorgeous,  but  his  bare  belief  must  be  a 
ticket  of  admission.  His  hell  must  be  very  hot  for 
others,  but  easy  of  escape  for  him.  •  ^ 

The  higher  form  of  manifestation  of  the  religious 
instinct,  in  the  development  of  conscience  and  moral 
sense,  is  hardly  possible  among  slaves,  except  in  those 
rare  cases  where  spontaneous  development  amounts  to 
moral  genius,  and  makes  the  man  a  perfect  law  unto 
himself.  With  an  ordinary  slave,  the  moral  sense  can- 
not develop  itself,  and  rule  the  life.  Continual  fear,  and 
the  cravings  of  ungratified  animal  instincts,  prevent  it 
He  must  live,  and  evade  painful  work  and  stripes,  rather 
than  not  lie.  He  must  have  bread  enough  to  eat,  rather 
than  not  steal  it.  The  denial  to  him  of  the  natural 
rights  of  man  prevents  any  exercise  of  the  correlative 
duties,  and  of  course  any  clear  understanding  of  them. 
Like  many  free  men,  the  main  thing  with  him  is  to  be 
right  Godward,  and  with  a  view  to  heaven,  no  matter  if 
he  be  all  wrong  manward ;  and  with  better  reason  than 
others  have,  because,  even  without  definite  consciousness 
of  the  fact,  he  feels  that  all  men  are  wrong  towards  him. 

As  to  the  highest  form  of  manifestation  of  the  reli- 


92 


gious  instinct,  love  to  God  shown  in  good  works  and  in 
loTe  to  man,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  the  ordinary  mortal 
who  owns  nothing — not  even  his  time,  his  children,  nor 
himself.  With  all  the  lower  and  selfish  propensities  and 
desires  for  personal  happiness  thwarted,  yet  ever  craving 
gratification,  how  can  the  higher  ones  have  exercise  and 
growth? 

The  efiect  of  freedom  upon  the  Canadian  refugees  has 
been  to  lessen  the  manifestation  of  the  religious  instinct 
in  the  lower  or  merely  emotional  forms,  and  to  increase 
it  in  the  higher  forms  of  conscience,  morality,  and  good 
works.  Love  of  God  manifests  itself  less  in  care  about 
themselves,  and  anxiety  about  their  own  future  condition, 
and  more  in  care  for  others.  Their  piety  is  less  nasal, 
and  more  practical.  They  pray  less  vehemently,  but  lie 
and  steal  less  readily.  They  profess  religion  less,  and 
practise  it  more.  Here  is  one  instance  in  which  the 
religious  instinct  manifested  itself  in  the  form  of  pious 
work  and  the  performance  of  duty,  rather  than  in  mere 
emotion  and  noisy  demonstration. 

"  There  was  a  large  gathering  of  colored  people  at  a 
sort  of  Methodist  love  feast  to  celebrate  the  completion 
of  a  church.  The  building  of  the  church  had  been  a 
long  and  painful  business.  They  had  been  much  per- 
plexed about  the  ways  and  means,  and  each  one  had 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost.  After  the  usual  prayer 
and  hymn,  there  was  an  inspiriting  exhortation  by  the 
pastor,  and  then  the  people  were  urged  "to  express 
themselves."  One  after  another  got  up  and  spoke  simply 
and  earnestly,  but  very  forcibly ;  and  every  one  congrat- 
ulated himself  upon  having  been  humbly  instrumental  in 


93 

"  getting  up  tlie  church."  They  thanked  God  that  they 
had  heen  able  to  render  help  in  that  good  work.  The 
pastor,  an  emotional  man,  but  clearly  inferior  to  many  of 
his  flock  in  point  of  mind  and  character,  tried  hard  to 
stir  up  some  stronger  emotion,  and  to  bring  oiit  noisy 
demonstration  by  interrupting  the  speakers  with  "  That's 
right,  brother!"  "Glory  to  God!"  " Hallelujah  1 "  and 
the  like.  But  he  had  no  success.  The  consciousness  of 
good  works  gave  more  satisfaction  than  windy  declara- 
tions of  faith  and  hope.    As  a  last  resort,  he  struck  up 


,  ^  "  John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave, 

His  soul  is  marching  on,"  &c. 

And  in  this  all  joined  with  great  enthusiasm ;  men,  women 
and  children  shouting  out  the  chorus  heartily.  The  con- 
crete Christianity  shown  in  the  old  hero's  self-sacrifice 
was  comprehensible  to  their  religious  sense. 

Again,  their  societies  for  the  relief  of  new  comers,  or 
of  the  feeble  and  destitute,  their  private  charities,  their 
attentions  to  the  sick,  their  tributes  to  the  memory  of  the 
dead,  are  all  ways  through  which  their  religious  'nstincts 
find  gratification  in  action.  If  these,  or  such  as  these, 
were  wanting,  of  course  the  instinct  would  crave  gratifi- 
cation in  mere  emotional  manifestations. 

It  is  further  charged,  that  the  slaves  are  incapable  of 
vital  religion,  because  the  most  pious  of  them  so  fre- 
quently lead  unchaste  lives.  But  the  fountain  can  rise  no 
higher  than  its  source.  The  religious  instinct  of  a  servile 
class  cannot  develop  itself  in  any  higher  form  than  that 
which  it  assumes  in  the  dominant  class,  and  which 
governs  the  relations  between  them.    It  cannot  be  high, 


if  these  grow  out  of  low  and  selfish  motives.  It  cannot 
be  purti,  if  the  relations  between  the  classes  are  impure. 
Now,  it  is  notorious,  that  in  one  respect,  the  relation  is 
disgustingly  impure.  No  clasp  with  any  claim  to  gentle 
blood  ever  so  demeaned  itiielf  as  our  slaveholders  do.  No 
men,  claiming  to  be  gentlemen,  ever  so  defiled  themselves. 

It  is  commonly  asserted,  that  in  the  South,  very 
few  white  men  grow  up  chaste,  and  that  chastity 
is  unknown  among  the  slaves.  This  may  be  exag- 
gerated, but  it  is  certain  that  the  inevitable  ten- 
dency of  American  slavery  is  not  only  to  bring 
about  promiscuous  intercourse  among  the  blacks,  and 
between  black  women  and  white  men,  but  also  to 
involve  white  women  in  the  general  depravity,'  and  to 
lower  the  standard  of  female  purity.  Southern  gentle- 
men, and  Turkish  gentry,  both  indulging  in  gross 
personal  licentiousness,  think  they  secure  superior  virtufe 
among  women  of  their  own  caste  by  certain  social 
restraints,  and  by  ferocious  vengeance  upon  the  violators 
of  their  honor ;  and  both  are  mistaken.  The  subject  is 
repulsive,  bui  whoever  examines  critically  the  evidence  of 
the  social  condition  of  the  Slave  States,  sees  that  the 
vaunted  superior  virtue  of  Southern  women  is  mere 
boast  and  sham.  .  i 

Nature  cannot  be  cheated ;  virtue  cannot  be  made  to 
flourish  in  a  vitiated  social  atmosphere ;  and  it  is  vitiated 
through  every  stratum  of  slaveholding  society.  Out  of 
this  corrupt  community  came  the  crowds  of  colored 
refugees  within  our  military  lines,  who  are  found  to  be 
so  grossly  dissolute  that  some  good  men  despair  of  them, 
and  adopt  the  slaveholders'  doctrine,  that  the  negro  is 


not  capable  of  that  moral  culture  which  makes  licen- 
tiousness seem  shocking,  and  makes  personal  purity 
essential  to  self-respect.  But,  out  of  this  atmosphere 
came  also  the  free  colored  people  of  the  North,  who,  in 
spite  of  political  disfranchisement  and  other  disadvan- 
tages, already  begin  to  show  the  effect  of  breathing  a 
better  atmosphere  by  their  growth  in  moral  purity.  Out 
of  this  atmosphere  came  also  the  Canadian  refugees,  who 
have  already  shown  that  with  freedom,  and  a  high  social 
standard  before  them,  they  tend  upward  to  virtue  as  surely 
as  whites  do  in  like  circumstances.  They  show  it  by  set- 
ting themselves  in  families ;  by  respecting  the  sanctity  of 
marriage ;  and  by  general  improvement  of  morals. 
There  are  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  families  whose  lives 
are  above  reproach.  We  found  there  men  of  natural 
refinement,  living  happily  and  securely  in  the  marriage 
state,  who  declared  to  us  that  they  had  always  shrunk 
from  the  idea  of  marrying  while  in  slavery,  because  they 
could  feel  no  assurance  about  the  previous  purity  of 
young  women,  and  no  security  against  forcible  violation 
of  their  domestic  honor.  ■;  ».**»;  v 


Treatment  of  Women.  ^   -    u^ 

When  freed  from  the  coiTupting  influences  of  slavery, 
the  kindly  nature  of  tlie  negro  makes  him  more  ready  to 
render  justice  and  respect  to  woman,  thar  the  more 
selfish  nature  of  the  white  races  allow  them  lo  do.  The 
courtesy  of  the  free  colored  men  to  their  women  is  well 
known  in  the  United  States ;  and  it  is  even  more  marked 
in  Canada.  Indeed,  the  respect  paid  to  women  by 
colored  men,  as  soon  as  they  become  free,  is  one  of  the 


most  hopeful  signs  for  their  race ;  a  sign  \irhich  the 
the  North  American  Indians  seldom  give.  A  striking 
instance  of  this  is  shown  in  Liberia.  Mr.  Cowan  met 
there  many  whom  he  had  formerly  known  in  Kentucky, 
and  he  says  there  was  a  change  in  them  for  the  better. 
The  change  was  in  their  manliness,  their  respect  for  each 
other,  and  "  the  respect  of  the  men  for  the  women."'* 
The  Constitution  of  Liberia  declares —  • 

**  That  the  property  of  which  a  woman  may  be  possessed  at 
the  time  of  her  marriage,  and  also  that  of  which  she  may  after- 
wards become  possessed,  otherwise  than  by  her  husband,  shall 
not  be  held  responsible  for  his  debts,  whether  contracted  before 
or  after  marriage.  Nor  shall  the  property  thus  intended  to  be 
secured  to  the  woman  be  alienated  otherwise  than  by  her  free 
and  voluntary  consent ;  anu  such  alienation  may  be  made  by 
her,  either  by  sale  or  devise,  or  otherwise."  fnt^ 

The  Constitution  further  sets  forth,  that      " 

"  Adultery,  the  seduction  of  a  wife  or  daughter,  and  the 
breach  of  a  contract,  engagement  or  promise  to  marry,  are 
injuries  of  a  peculiar  nature,  and  partake  of  a  criminal  char- 
acter, and  actions  in  regard  to  them  partake  of  a  criminal  > 
character."  .  -.  .  - 


There  is  a  most  interesting  fact  connected  with  these 
provisions.  At  the  instance  of  the  Colonization  Society,  an 
eminent  juristf  drew  up  the  Constitution  for  the  colonists, 
and  it  was  sent  to  Africa,  and  submitted  for  their  adop- 
tion. But  the  original  draft  contained  none  of  these 
provisions  securing  the  rights  of  women.  They  were 
inserted  by  a  committee  of  colored  men  in  Liberia. 


•  "  Liberia  as  1  Fopnd  it."    p.  63. 

t  Professor  Greenleaf,  of  Cambridge,  Mass. 


97 


Hv 


fi,  t. 


^•^f??y*' 


GENTLE    DISPOSITION    OF    REFUGEES. 

'  Akin  to  their  religious  character,  there  are  certain 
moral  qualities  in  the  negro  which  are  strongly  exhibited 
by  the  Canadian  refugees.  Among  these  are  their  for- 
giving tempers,  and  their  affectionate  dispositions. 

The  idea  has  been  advanced  in  this  paper,  that  the  cross 
between  white  and  negro  races  serves  to  lower  the  tone  of 
the  whole  animal  nature  of  the  progeny,  and  give  less 
manly  force  to  the  intellect  than  is  possessed  by  either 
parent  race.  But  whatever  may  be  its  eifect  upon  the 
mental  powers,  it  does  not  lessen  the  moral  capacities, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  seems,  by  softening  some  of  the  . 
animal  passions,  to  prepare  men  for  a  mission  of  love. 
No  white  race  has  ever  yet  learned  to  turn  the  unsmitten 
cheek  to  the  smiter ;  a  black  one  may.  The  mulattoes 
do  not  show  so  much  ferocity  as  still  lingers  in  the  most 
civilized  white  races,  and  which  is  sure  to  burst  out 
when  they  are  hard  pushed  by  oppression  or  want.  It 
is  this  lack  of  ferocity  which  has  enabled  the  slaveholders 
to  push  oppression  in  some  parts  of  the  country  to  the 
utmost  limit  of  human  endurance,  without  danger  to 
themselves ;  for  they  knew  it  was  the  worm  and  not  the 
adder  upon  which  they  trod. 

Canada  is  full  of  men  and  women  who,  in  the  first 
half  of  their  lives,  were  witnesses  and 'sufferers  of  such 
indignities  and  wrongs  as  would  burn  into  most  white 
men's  souls,  and  make  them  pass  the  last  half  in  plotting 
vengeance.  Not  so  these  people.  They  cherish  no  spirit 
of  vengeance,  and  seem  to  have  no  grudge  against  their 
oppressors.  The  memory  and  recital  of  their  wrongs  do 
not  arouse  such  bitter  feelings,  and  call  out  such  maledic^ 

13 


98 

tions,  as  would  certainly  be  heard  from  white  men  of 
similar  exi)erience. 

Only  a  single  instance  is  recollected  in  which  a  feeling 
of  unsatisfied  vengeance  was  manifested;  but  many 
could  be  recalled  where  the  old  master  and  mistress  were 
spoken  of  with  kindness,  and  a  regret  expressed  that 
they  would  not  be  seen  again.  - 

'  The  testimony  of  Mrs.  Wilkinson  is  a  case  in  point. 

"I  was  raised,"  said  she,  "in  Winchester,  Virginia;  I  was 
treated  kindly  by  the  Dutchmen  with  whon:  I  lived,  and  they 
freed  me  after  lyy  husband  ran  away,  and  gave  mo  my  son, 
when  he  was  about  three  years  old.  My  husband  came  here 
because  he  wanted  to  be  free.  He  was  not  treated  right.  I  was 
living  very  well — same  as  if  I  was  free,  although  they  hadn't 
given  me  my  free  papers.  I  had  no  hardships.  There  were 
two  sets  of  cliildren,  and  when  the  old  gentleman  was  dead,  the 
second  set  of  children  thought  that  they  and  their  mother  better 
give  me  my  freedom  and  let  mo  go,  because,  if  slie  died,  they 
didn't  know  but  the  first  set  of  children  might  come  in  and 
ensi'ivo  me.    1  was  twonty-eiglit  years  old  when  1  was  freed. 

"  I  7as  over  here  twenty-one  years,  and  then  went  back  just 
to  see  the  old  place  and  all  my  friends.  That  was  six  years  ago. 
1  saw  my  master's  family.  I  wanted  to  se"  them — indeed  I  did, 
for  I  nursed  tliem.  I  brought  them  with  me,  and  will  gettliem 
and  sliow  them  to  you.  (Mrs.  W.  here  left  tlie  room,  and 
returned  presently  with  a  daguerreotype,  wliich  she  handed  to 
Dr.  Howe.)  1  nursed  that  man  when  he  was  a  child.  His  name 
is  John  Hoover.  I  nursed  his  brother,  too.  Tiiey  thought  a 
good  deal  of  me,  and  wouldn't  do  anything  at  all  without  asking 
me.  Tins  (another  likeness)  is  a  picture  of  my  young  master's 
cousin.  Khe  gave  it  to  me  herself,  thinking  I  might  not  go})ack 
again,  but  I  don't  know  but  I  shall.  •  '      '     * 

"  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  hard  treatment  of  others,  but 
never  had  any  myself.  I  was  just  raised  up  like  one  of  the 
family.  I  used  to  call  my  master  "  father,"  and  the  old  lady 
"  mother,"  until  I  came  to  Ijliis  country.  Tiiat  is  the  way  I 
was  raised.    I  came  off  to  follow  my  husband." 


It  is  remarkable  that  even  the  refugees  who  fled  to 
escape  brutal  treatment  express  no  dislike  to  the  whites 
generally.  Many  often  speak  of  their  old  mistress  with 
tenderness,  and  of  her  children  as  beloved  playmates. 
Many  would  like  to  go  back  and  live  in  the  old  place,  but 
never  as  slaves.  , 

-     Among  the  minor  virtues  of  these  people  is  that  of 


.  »> 


i  V     r,  ;      ;i    :  Cheerfulness. 

Indeed,  the  disposition  to  mirthfulness  seems  to  be  so 
strong  in  the  negro  as  almost  to  merit  .the  name  of  a 
peculiar  quality.  Oppression  keeps  it  down  for  a  time  ; 
but  it  continually  breaks  out  in  jollity,  and  there  is  often 
more  fun  and  laughter  in  the  cabin  than  in  the  master's 
house.  This  disposition  grows  out  of  their  very  organ- 
ization, and  their  peculiarity  in  this  respect  may  be 
among  those  marvellous  arrangements  by  which  Prov- 
idence prepares  races  for  the  parts  they  are  to  bear  in  the 
drama  of  existence.  Indeed,  some  physiologists  assert 
that  the  Caucasian  race,  during  uterine  and  infantile 
growth,  passes  through  "  certain  stages  of  form,"  which 
are  so  much  more  persistent  in  the  African  race  as  to  be 
characteristic  of  it.  May  there  not  be  something  akin  to 
this  in  the  moral  development  of  the  race  ?  The  white 
man  seems  to  pass  out  of  that  phase  of  young  life 
abounding  in  mirth  and  jollity,  when  he  passes  beyond 
boyhood,  while  the  negro  remains  longer  in  it,  if  indeed 
he  ever  gets  out  of  it  at  all.  At  any  rate,  the  negroes  in 
this  country  are  proverbially  mirthful  and  childish.  In 
the  South,  they  are  considered  as  children,  and  grown 
men  are  called  "  boys."  v-  -      • 


100 


But  the  whole  bodily  organization  and  the  resulting  dis- 
positions are  modified  by  external  influences,  especially  in 
a  cross  breed.  We  have  seen  how  the  physical  organiza- 
tion of  the  negroes  has  been  modified  at  will,  and  just 
such  kind  of  men  produced  as  the  market  demanded.  But 
this  is  not  a'l.  Slavery  is  instinctively  discriminating  in  the 
moral,  as  well  as  the  bodily  qualities  which  it  cultivates 
or  represses.  The  Polish  youth  in  the  military  schools, 
established  and  directed  by  the  dominant  Russians,  used 
to  assert  that  while  the  most  rigid  military  discipline  was 
enforced,  and  the  slightest  breach  thereof  was  punished 
without  mercy,  moral  discipline  was  not  only  neglected, 
but  such  vices  as  gambling  and  licentiousness  were 
encouraged  by  being  merely  winked  at.  A  sinful  life 
would  make  them  less  likely  to  be  Polish  patriots,  and 
more  likely  to  be  Russian  mercenaries.  So,  for  a  slave, 
mirthfulness  is  wholesome  and  harmless ;  but  thinking  is 
dangerous.  The  one  promotes  the  growth  and  strength 
of  the  body,  and  that  belongs  to  the  master ;  the  other 
promotes  the  growth  and  strength  of  the  soul,  and  that 
belongs  to  the  slave. 

Moreover,  slavery  stunts  the  growth  of  individuality, 
and  strives  to  make  boyhood  lifelong.  Of  course, 
there  can  be  no  true  manliness  without  the  feeling  of 
independent  individuality  and  the  habit  of  self-guidance, 
and  slavery  prevents  the  exercise  of  these.  Then  there 
can  be  no  character  without  responsibilities  and  cares, 
and  slaves  have  few  of  them.  In  Canada,  the  negroes 
seem  to  have  a  more  sober  aspect.  They  look  older  at 
the  same  age  than  slaves  do,  and  are  not  so  rollicking 
and   jolly.      This    is    said    doubtingly,   because    other 


101      •        ;  '; 

obiservers  of  them  say  they  are  more  mirthful  through 
life  than  whites  are. 

In  summing  up  their  moral  qualities,  it  may  be  said 
of  the  Canadian  refugees  generally,  that  like  the  mulat- 
toes  of  the  Northern  States,  they  seem  a  little  effeminate, 
as  though  a  portion  of  the  grit  had  been  left  out  of  their 
composition.  It  may  be,  that  with  their  African  blood, 
they  have  inherited  more  of  womanly  than  of  manful 
dispositions ;  for  Africans  have  more  of  womanly  virtues 
than  fiercer  people  have.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that, 
among  the  races,  Africa  is  like  a  gentle  sister  In  a  family 
of  fierce  brothers.  .    ,    - 


General  Conclusions^  drawn  from  Observation  of  the  Con- 
dition of  Colored  People  of  Canada  West.  '     .^- 

1st.  That  the  negroes  of  Canada,  being  for  the  most 
part  hybrids,  are  not  of  robust  stock,  and  are  unfavor-  . 
ably  affected  by  the  climate ;  that  they  are  infertile,  and 
their  infertility  is  increased  by  intermarriage  with  each 
other ;  and  therefore,  unless  their  number  is  kept  up  by 
immigrants  from  the  United  States,  or  by  some  artificial 
encouragement,  they  will  decrease  and  disappear  in  a  few 
generations. 

2d.  That,  with  freedom  and  equality  before  the  law, 
they  are,  upon  the  whole,  sober,  industrious,  and  thrifty, 
and  have  proved  themselves  to  be  capable  of  self-guidance 
and  self-support.  .     :* 

3d.  That  they  have  set  themselves  in  families,  and 
hallowed  marriage,  whereby  sensuality  has  lessened,  and 
amalgamation  between  the  races  nearly  ceased. 


102 


4th.  That  they  are  exceedingly  imitative,  but  incline 
to  imitate  what  is  most  worthy  of  imitation  in  the  society 
about  them,  and  are  decidedly  improving  in  knowledge 
and  virtue. 

5  th.  That  those  situated  upon  farms  show  ability, 
industry  and  skill  enough  to  manage  them,  though  their 
isolation  retards  their  mental  improvement. 

6th.  That  when  they  congregate  in  large  numbers  in  one 
locality,  and  establish  separate  churches  and  schools,  they 
not  only  excite  prejudices  of  race  in  others,  but  develop 
a  spirit  of  caste  among  themselves,  and  make  less  pro- 
gress than  where  they  form  a  small  part  of  the  local 
population. 

7th.  That  prejudice  against  them  among  the  whites 
(including  the  English)  is  engendered  by  the  same  cir- 
cumstances, and  manifested  with  the  same  intensity,  as  in 
the  United  States. 

8th.  That  they  have  not  taken  firm  root  in  Canada, 
and  that  they  earnestly  desire  to  go  to  the  southern 
region  of  the  United  States,  partly  from  love  of  warmth, 
but  more  from  love  of  horde.      .  .        .  v  . 

9th.  That,  compared  with  the  whites,  the  per  centage 
of  crimes  indicative  of  lax  morality  is  large;  that  of 
crimes  indicative  of  malice  and  ferocity,  all  things 
considered,  is  not  large;  and  that  the  percentage  of 
pauperism  is  very  small  indeed. 

10th.  That,  upon  the  whole,  they  promote  the  indus- 
trial and  material  interests  of  the  country,  ai.!  are 
valuable  citizens. 


103 


General  Inferences  to  he  drawn  from  the  experience  of 

Negroes  in  Canada,  as  to  the  probable  effect  of  giving 
freedom  and  equality  before  the  law  to  all  Negroes  in 

the  United  States. 

Ist.  That  with  freedom  and  the  ownership  of  property, 
the  instinct  of  family  will  be  developed,  marriages  will 
increase,  and  promiscuous  intercourse  decrease.  That 
the  tendency  of  this  change  to  increase  population  will 
be  more  than  counteracted  by  the  inferior  fertility  of  the 
mulatto  breed,  when  not  invigorated  by  crossing  with 
pure  types,  black  or  white ;  so  that  the  colored  breed 
will  soon  begin  to     3crease, 

2d.  That,  under  freedom,  we  may  safely  rely  upon  the 
natural  laws  of  affinity  to  check  amalgamation  of  races, 
which  slavery  encourage^,  by  putting  a  premium  upon 
the  offspring,  and  in  other  ways.         :.      h       :- 

3d.  That  with  entire  freedom  of  movement  and  secu- 
rity from  oppression,  much  of  the  colored  population  of 
the  Northern  and  Western  States  will  be  drawn  by  the 
natural  laws  which  govern  movements  of  peoples  towardi 
the  tropical  regions,  carrying  with  them  social  influences 
which  will  sf'ftcn  the  ferocity  now  prevalent,  and  be 
beneficial  in  many  respects. 

4tli.  That  the  negroes  of  the  South  are  capable  of 
self-guidance  and  support  without  other  protection  than 
will  be  needed  by  poor  whites ;  and  that  they  will  be 
loyal  supporters  of  any  government  which  ensures  their 
freedom  and  rights.       ,  ^.a-       .  -  i    -..i'li 

5th.  That  when  living  in  communities  with  whites  in 
not  greater  proportion  than  one  thousand  to  fifteen  or 


104 


twenty  thousand,  antagonism  of  race  will  hardly  be 
developed,  but  the  negroes  will  imitate  the  best  features 
of  white  civilization,  and  will  improve  rapidly. 

6th.  That  it  is  not  desirable  to  have  them  live  in 
communities  bv  themselves. 

7th.  That  they  will  be  docile  and  easily  governed  by 
laws,  and  however  given  to  petty  offences,  will  not  be 
prone  to  crimes  of  grave  character ;  that  they  will  be 
peculiarly  susceptible  to  religious  influence,  and  excel  in 
some  of  the  Christian  virtues.  j  ■  ..■■^.'.  - 

8th.  That  they  will  not  be  idle,  but  industrious  and 
thrifty,  and  that  there  will  be  less  pauperism  among 
them  than  is  usual  among  our  foreign  emigrants. 

9th.  That  by  their  industry  and  thrift  they  will  for- 
ward the  industrial  interests  of  the  country,  without  the 
fearful  demoralization  heretofore  caused  by  their  oppres- 
sion and  debasement. 

Finally,  the  lesson  taught  by  this  and  other  emigra- 
tions is,  that  the  negro  does  best  when  let  alone,  and 
that  we  must  beware  of  all  attempts  to  prolong  his  ser- 
vitude, even  under  pretext  of  taking  care  of  him.  The 
white  man  has  tried  taking  care  of  the  negro,  by  slavery, 
by  apprenticeship,  by  colonization,  and  has  failed  disas- 
trously in  all;  now  let  the  negro  try  to  take  care  of 
himwelf.  For,  as  all  the  blood  and  tears  of  our  people  in 
this  revolutionary  struggle  will  be  held  as  cheap,  if  they 
re-establish  our  Union  in  universal  freedom,  so  all  the 
suffering  and  misery  which  his  people  may  suffer  in  their 
efforts  for  self-guidance  and  support  will  be  held  cheap, 
if  they  bring  about  emT'ncipation  from  the  control  of 
the  whites. 


-'»*<'»"•■■«'     H-ir    f>C'!.     '•' 


',  flC«;': 


-':■'}/'''; 


APPENDIX. 


[Note,  p.  17.] 
'    It  was  expected  that  the  resuU  of  inquiries,  instituted,  would  be  known 
soon  enough  to  enable  us  to  give  in  tiiis  Report  a  more  exact  e^^tiraale  of 
the  population  ;  but  it  is  not.     From  all  information  received,  however, 
it  appears  that  the  estimate  given  on  p.  17,  is  not  too  high. 

The  following  extract  from  a  Report  of  the  School  Trustees  of  the 
City  of  London,  proves  that  the  census  return  of  that  city  was  entirely 
wrong ;  and  that  probably  the  colored  people  were  included  in  the 
column  of  Whites.  The  Abstract  of  the  Census  Report,  1861,  states, 
[page  49,]  that  there  are  35  colored  persons  in  London.  But  the 
School  Report,  dated  November,  1862,  shows  that  there  were  153 
children,  of  whom  96  were  of  "school  age."  :. ,  :k^ 

"  Your  Committee  have  employed  careful  parties  to  make  an  enumeration* 
of  the  families  of  colored  citizens,  the  number  of  children  in  each  family,  the 
number  over  five  years  of  age,  and  the  number  attending  school.    From  the 
statistics  so  collected  it  appears  that  the  whole  number  of  colored  families  in 
the  city  is  as  follows : — 


Wabd. 


1, 
2, 
8, 
4, 
5, 
6, 
7, 


Families. 

Number  of 
Children. 

Of 

School  Age. 

10 

23 

11 

0 

0 

0 

25 

69 

36 

0 

0 

0 

11 

52 

33 

7 

16 

14 

2 

3 

2 

55 

153 

06 

Attending 
School. 


7 
0 

25 
0 

18 
0 
0 

50 


Your  Committee  append,  for  the  inspection  of  the  Board,  the  lists  made  out 

by  the  enumt'rators  from  which  the  foregoing  epitome  has  been  taken,  and 

which  shows  that  the  number  of  colored  families  in  the  city  is  about  55,  the 

number  of  children*  153,  of  school  age  96,  and  the  number  attending  school  50." 

14 


-11. 


106 


There  has  been  no  movement  of  the  population  which  can  by  possi- 
bility have  caused  such  a  change. 

[Note  No.  2,  p.  61.] 
Extriiot  from  a  Report  of  a  Sub-Committee  to  the  school  trustees, 
City  of  London,  November,  1862.   _ 


"  1.  Your  Committee  are  fully  satisfied  that  a  feeling  is  widely  diffused 
among  the  people,  whether  well  or  ill-founded  it  is  useless  to  inquire,  that  the 
negro  difTers  so  essentially  from  the  Caucasian  race  in  organic  structure,  in 
the  effects  of  climate  influences,  or  both,  that  any  close  or  intimate  relations 
with  them  are  not  desirable.  While  this  feeling  exists,  while  it  prevails  among 
the  white  population  to  such  an  extent,  it  is  wrong,  it  is  cruel  in  us  to  force 
their  children  into  the  same  classes  with  those  of  the  colored  people.  Besides, 
your  Committee  have  seen  that  the  children  themselve  sympathize  in  this  prej- 
udice of  their  parents,  and  manifest  a  strong  dislike  to  being  seated  with 
their  colored  class-mates ;  and  sometimes  this  feeling  of  repugnance  is  so 
strongly  shown  as  to  require  the  intervention  of  the  teacher's  authority  to 
suppress  it.  When  such  is  the  case,  it  is  vain  to  expect  either  harmony  or  a 
kindly  feeling  to  prevail  in  the  class-room  or  play-ground :  but  rather  must  we 
expect  to  find,  on  the  part  of  both,  a  mind  predisposed  to  take  and  give 
offence,  a  bandying  of  offensive  epithets,  embittered,  acrimonious  feelings,  and 
juvenile  quarrels.  In  these  petty  disputes  the  parents  frequently  take  part ; 
•  complaints  are  made,  and  will  continue  to  be  made  by  both  parties,  that  their 
children  have  been  insulted  ;  and,  by  the  colored  parents,  that  theirs  have 
been  harshly  and  perhaps  unjustly  treated. 

There  is  but  little  prospect,  your  Committee  fear,  of  this  state  of  things 
being  remedied  while  the  system  of  uniting  both  races  in  the  same  classes 
continues. 

2.  Your  Committee  feel  it  a  duty  imposed  upon  them  to  state  plainly — 
though  the  task  may  be  an  ungracious  one — that  from  some  unexplained 
organic  cause,  the  close  proximity  of  these  people,  children  or  adults,  is  disagree- 
able to  their  white  neighbors.  Your  Committee  will  not  be  deterred,  through 
any  feeling  of  false  delicacy,  from  stating  that,  in  a  close  class-room,  during  the 
summer  months,  this  effluvium  is  highly  offensive  to  many  of  the  children,  and 
still  more  so  to  many  of  the  teachers.  It  is  very  true  this  cannot  be,  with  any 
justice,  brought  against  them  as  a  charge  for  which  they  are  responsible : 
neither  do  your  Committee  wish  it,  but  still  they  esteem  it  a  powerful  reason 
why  a  separation  should  be  sought,  as  the  case  admits  of  the  application  of  no 
other  remedy. 

3.  Your  Committee  feel  convinced  that  there  is,  and  must  be,  a  want  of 
sympathy  between  the  teacher  and  this  part  of  her  scholars,  which  is  injurious 
to  both.  The  teacher  knows  that,  in  the  discharge  of  her  duty,  she  ought  to 
treat  all  alike ;  that  she  should,  without  any  visible  constraint,  self-imposed  or 
otherwise,  manifest  the  same  affection  for  one  as  another.  But  this  she  cannot 
do ;  and  the  little  colored  child  feels  with  disappointment,  mingled  with  grief, 


107 


that  it  has  not  the  same  easy  access  to  the  heart  of  the  teacher  that  others 
of  a  similar  age  and  character  possess.  Hence  originates  the  conviction,  even 
when  still  young,  that  they  arc  not  placed  upon  the  same  footing  as  others. 
Suspicion  is  aroused,  and  they  begin  to  watch  with  a  jealous  eye  every  move- 
ment of  the  teacher,  to  compare  her  bearing  towards  them,  the  manner  in  which 
she  recognizes  their  wish  to  please  and  their  endeavors  to  excel,  with  her 
bearing  and  manner  in  respect  to  similar  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  other 
children,  and  draw  their  own  inferences  therefrom. 

Your  Committee  are  certain  that  any  keen  observer  can  make  up  his  mind 
upon  this  part  of  the  subject,  in  an  evening  visit  to  any  of  the  classes  where 
these  colored  children  are  most  numerous,  by  observing  the  different  manners 
in  which  the  two  races  take  leave  of  the  teacher  for  the  day.  The  beaming 
eye  and  radiant  smile  with  which  the  little  white  girl  approaches  her 
teacher,  indicate  a  warm  and  assured  recognition  of  her  salute ;  while  the 
little  African  stands  wistfully  apart,  gazing  on  the  scene,  or  moves  off  with 
either  grief,  jealousy,  or  a  dogged  indifference,  visible  upon  its  countenance." 

There  was  much  more  to  this  effect ;  but  not  one  word  of  censure 
upon  teachera,  who  by  their  " want  of  sympathy"  proved  themselves  to 
be  unfit  for  their  duties.  A  vain  effort  was  made  to  amend  this  most 
discreditable  Report,  by  inserting  the  following  words : —  ,  , 

"  That,  believing  the  colored  population  to  be  a  portion  of  the  human 
family,  who  have  chosen  Canada  as  the  land  of  their  adoption,  and  being  loyal 
subjects  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  wc  consider  them  fully  entitled  to  all  the 
civic  and  religious  rights  of  British  subjects,  and  reject  now  and  henceforth 
the  report  of  Messrs.  Webb,  Graydon,  &c.,  which,  if  ever  acted  upon, 
would  deny  them  those  equal  rights  dear  to  every  Briton,  and  subject  them 
to  a  great  amount  of  inconvenience  and  persecution."  ,  •      - 

The  Report  was  finally  amended,  by  substituting  for  Section  3d,  a  less 
offensive  one ;  but  the  question  of  substituting  a  caste  school  for  the 
common  school ;  of  expelling  colored  children  from  the  common  school, 
and  restricting  them  to  the  caste  school,  was  settled  in  the  affirmative, 
by  a  vote  of  ten  to  three.  Illessrs.  Alex.  Johnston,  McPherson,  and 
Ross,  having  manliness  and  pluck  enough  to  vote  against  the  measure, 
as  "Anti-British."  ,        ,   . 

BUXTON  SETTLEMENT.  •  *        .      -i. 

[Abstract  of  the  Testimony  of  Rf-v.  William  King.] 
This  settlement  was  formed  in  1849.  I  brought  fifteen  of  my  own 
people  here,  [slaves  whom  he  had  emancipated,]  and  have  trusted  to 
voluntary  emigration  since.  They  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  others  came  in.  In  August,  1850,  I  procured  an  Act  of 
Incorporation  from  Parliament.    The  whole  of  my  plan  was  this : — 


,( 


108 


to  provide  th(><<e  people  with  a  home,  and  their  children  with  an  educa> 
tion ;  and  with  these  two  things,  I  felt  confident  every  bic^^ing  would 
come.  Tiiu  men  were  charged  $2.50  an  acre  for  the  land,  to  be  paid  in 
twelve  nnnnnl  instalment?.  When  a  fugitive  came  to  me  who  had  not 
a  cent,  I  nnid  to  him,  "  You  can  go  to  work,  and  cam  twelve  dollars 
and  a  half,  and  pay  the  first  instalment  on  your  land,  and  have  ten 
years  in  wiiidi  to  pay  the  rest."  They  were  all  able  to  pay  the  first 
instalment,  for  the  railroads  were  being  built  at  that  time,  and  they 
could  readily  get  work.  I  taught  them  never  to  ask  for  a  cent,  if  they 
could  earn  it  themselves.  You  would  hardly  ever  see  one  of  t*^em 
begging,  and  wo  have  endeavored  to  cultivate  that  principle  throughout 
the  whole.  They  have  supplied  their  own  tools  and  cattle.  I  was  at 
considerable  expense  in  establishing  the  settlement,  but  I  have  asked 
no  fee  or  reward,  because  I  knew  the  moment  I  did  so,  it  would  be  said 
I  was  aclip;:;  from  mercenary  motives.  I  formed  an  association,  in  order 
to  secure  all  this  land,  if  they  failed  to  purchase  it  themselves,  because  I 
knew  speculators  would  come  in  and  b'.y  it  up  if  I  did  not  take  that 
precaution. 

The  houses  here  were  put  up  by  the  colonists  themselves,  after  a 
model  furnished  them,  18  feet  by  24,  twelve  feet  high,  and  set  thirty- 
three  feet  from  the  road,  and  enclosed  with  a  picket  fence.  In  three 
years  after  I  came  here,  there  were  one  hundred  men  who  could  become 
British  subjects.  We  can  turn  out  150  or  IGO  voters  for  members  of 
Parliament  now,  and  220  voters  for  councillors.  I  had  an  anti-alienation 
clause  inserted  in  the  deeds,  so  that  these  people  could  not  transfer  their 
land  to  a  white  man  until  they  had  been  here  for  ten  years.  That  has 
kept  them  a  compact  body,  so  that  the  political  power  ihey  have  got  will 
protect  them.  Prejudice  has  melted  before  that  political  power,  and 
now  the  people  are  respected  and  elected  to  office — paih-masters,  school 
trustees,  and  councillors.  That  is  as  high  as  we  can  get ;  for  a  white 
man  would  never  vote  for  a  colored  man  as  member  of  Parliament. 
In  this  district,  we  have  had  two  Councillors  in  one  year. 

At  the  present  time,  two  thousand  acres  are  deeded,  in  fee  simple, 
one-third  of  which  has  been  paid  for,  principal  and  interest.  The 
whole  block  contains  nine  thousand  acres.  The  population  of  the  set- 
tlement is  about  one  thousand — men,  women,  and  children.  I  have 
made  them  self-supporting  in  all  material  matters,  and  they  are  more 
than  half  self-supporting  in  their  schools  at  the  present  moment.  They 
have  established  two  schools  in  the  northern  part  of  the  settlement,  of 
which  they  pay  all  the  expenses,  and  as  soon  as  I  can  get  them  to  pay 
for  the  land,  I  shall  make  this  school  [the  central]  self-supporting. 
Tbfe  most  that  any  of  them  owe  on  fifty  acres  of  land  is  $183.  I 
expect  to  settle  the  whole  thing  up  in  eighteen  months.    I  have  no 


109 


doubt  in  regard  to  their  paying  every  cent  on  their  land.  I  am  making 
arrangements  to  get  all  the  deeds  out  this  fall,  and  let  them  borrow 
the  money  from  a  money-lender  and  pay  what  is  due,  giving  him  mort- 
gages, which  I  am  sure  will  all  be  paid  in  eighteen  months.  They  are  apt 
to  take  advantage  when  they  find  they  are  not  compelled  by  necessity  to 
pay  what  they  owe.  Out  of  all  who  came  in,  there  were  only  three 
who  had  their  first  instalment  paid  by  a  friend.  I  took  the  notes  of  the 
three  parties  for  the  amount ;  one  of  them  paid,  but  the  others  will  not. 
If  the  friend  who  advanced  the  money  had  been  a  Jew,  they  would 
have  paid  him.  I  have  known  some  of  the  men  to  borrow  a  hundred 
dollars  for  their  own  purposes,  and  it  has  always  been  repaid. 

From  the  day  I  came  here  to  this,  there  has  not  been  a  drunken  col- 
ored man  in  this  settlement.  No  man  is  allowed  to  sell  liquor  in  this 
settlement ;  and  to  the  honor  of  the  people  be  it  said,  that  when  one 
man  came  on  our  borders  and  opened  a  grog-shop,  he  could  not  remain 
twelve  months,  for  they  would  not  support  him.  But  if  brought  together, 
and  lefl  to  idleness,  they  would  soon  become  demoralized.  '     vmi  • 

With  regard  to  the  climate,  I  find  that  when  the  colored  people  are 
clothed  the  same  as  Canadians,  it  has  no  more  influence  on  them  than 
on  whites.  Those  I  brought  from  Louisiana  stood  the  climate  just 
as  well  as  those  who  were  born  in  the  North.  In  general,  they  are 
quite  robust  and  healthy.  There  has  been  but  very  little  sickness  in 
the  settlement.  We  have  had  no  epidemic.  We  vaccinate  the  people, 
and  have  had  but  one  case  of  small-pox. 

There  are  some  large  families  here.  There  is  one  man  with  fourteen 
children ;  another  has  twelve ;  another,  ten.  They  are  about  half  blacks 
and  half  mulattoes.  The  average  of  children  to  a  family  is  about  three, 
— not  including  the  deaths.  I  don't  think  the  mortality  here  has  been 
any  greater  tlian  it  would  have  been  in  any  settlement,  under  the  same 
circumstances.  I  think  the  mulattoes  are  not  so  long-lived  here  as  the 
whites  or  the  blacks.  And  even  in  New  Orleans,  Dr.  Stone — very 
good  authority  there — stated  to  me  that  he  was  of  opinion  that  the 
mixed  race  would  die  out  in  four  generations.  I  have  watched  that 
matter  since,  and  it  seems  to  me  that,  as  a  class  they  have  not  the  same 
stamina  as  pure  blacks  or  pure  whites. 

Only  four  illegitimate  children  have  been  born  in  this  settlement ; 
and  that  is  a  better  state  of  things  than  you  will  find  in  Europe.  In 
England,  Scotland,  or  Ireland,  the  proportion  of  bastards  is  much 
greater.  The  people  here  consider  it  a  disgrace.  I  observe  that  they 
pay  a  very  great  respect  to  chastity  and  to  the  marriage  relation.  They 
all  want  to  be  proclaimed  in  church  three  times.  There  will  be  cases  of 
infidelity  among  them,  but  the  guilty  parties  are  not  respected.  The 
most  blame  falls  on  the  woman.    Very  few  cases  of  adultery  have 


no 


come  under  my  observation.  I  strongly  suspect  three  or  four  women, 
from  their  conduct  among  men ;  but  I  have  no  proof  of  their 
criminality. 

We  have  had  one  or  two  cases  of  petty  larceny,  and  one  of  man- 
slaughter. The  class  we  have  here  has  been  very  free  from  pilfering  t 
it  has  been  an  exception  to  the  generality  of  the  race.  I  will  tell  you  one 
fault  they  have ;  when  they  borrow  an  article  from  me,  they  never 
return  it.     I  cannot  say  they  have  stolen  it ;  but  they  neglect  to  return  it. 

If  freedom  is  established  in  the  United  States,  I  don't  think  it  will 
have  any  effect  upon  the  settlers  here ;  but  the  young  men  and  yoinig 
women  who  are  educated  here  will  go  down  there,  because  they  cannot 
get  white  schools  here  to  teach,  such  is  the  prejudice  against  them,  and 
there  are  not  colored  schools  enough  to  employ  them.  I  don't  think  col- 
ored schools  will  be  multiplied  here,  because  they  are  not  expedient,  and 
in  a  few  years  I  think  there  will  be  but  few  lefl  in  the  Province.  I  have 
never  encouraged  the  formation  of  villages,  because  1  thought  the  main- 
stay of  the  people  would  be  agriculture.  If  any  of  the  settlers  are 
unfortunate,  the  others  freely  help  him.  There  are  thirty  orphans  in 
the  settlement,  who  are  supported  by  different  familie^j. 

This  settlement  is  a  perfect  success  ;  there  is  no  doubt  about  that.  I 
am  prepared  to  prove  tlmt  in  any  place.  Here  are  men  who  were  bred 
ilk  slavery,  who  came  here  and  purchased  land  at  the  government  prices, 
cleared  it,  bougiit  their  own  implements,  built  their  own  houses  after  a 
model,  and  have  supported  themselves  in  all  material  circumstnnce.s,  and 
now  support  their  schools,  in  part.  I  charge  them  twenty-live  cents  a 
month  for  schooling,  when  they  are  able  to  pay  it.  Not  one-fourth  pay 
here,  where  there  is  no  compulsion ;  but  in  the  government  schools, 
where  the  law  obliges  them  to  do  so,  they  all  pay  it.  I  consider  that 
this  settlement  has  done  as  well  as  any  white  settlement  would  have  done, 
under  the  same  circumstances ;  and  I  am  prepared  to  prove  that  a  colored 
community  can  be  made  industrious  and  self-supporting,  if  they  are 
properly  treated.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  colored  people  of  your  coun- 
try, as  soon  as  the  war  is  over,  if  they  are  put  upon  the  farms  of  the 
South,  will  become  self-supporting.  A  finer  class  of  laborers  cannot  be 
found  in  the  world  for  raising  cotton.  Only  introduce  Northern  capital, 
or  Southern  capital,  give  them  full  remuneration,  and  in  a  short  time 
you  will  find  them  an  industrious,  i-espectable,  self-supporting  community. 


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